Lost and Found
by TheAsianGirl
Summary: No one had thought that Draco Malfoy would go missing. But he did. 2 days after the war ended, Draco Malfoy vanished into thin air. And when a broken Hermione is put in charge of the case, she finds a different person than she had ever intended to find.
1. Finding the Lost

Finding the Lost

I own absolutely nothing related to Harry Potter. Thank You JK Rowling for Harry Potter!

"It has been one year"

"Yes"

"Any luck?"

"No"

"I'm so sorry"

"I know", i managed to say that even though my throat was burning and my eyes were foggy. I lied, i lied to make myself feel better, i lied to pull myself together, i lied to live a lie.

"Hermione, you know that we can talk about it, right?" asked the redhead with concern all over her face.

"Yes Ginny, I know that I can talk about it. It is just that I was so sure that we will be able to find them! The war took a toll on all of us and I was really hoping to see mom and dad once all of this got over. I just... " , and that was enough to break me. I guess I was broken now, thanks to myself.

Ginny hugged me tightly and stayed with me for another two hours before she had to finally leave. I must admit, being alone has become a lot more comfortable. And when you're alone, time seems to develop wings because one moment it was 6 and the very next moment it was 10. The dreaded 10. Because just the very moment the clock showed 10, I had men standing in my doorway who were ready to break down the door just to get my signature. They won't talk, they will just get down to their business.

"Ms. Granger"

"Kingsley?" to be honest, i was surprised to see him there as well.

"I know this is going to be tough for you. But you will have to do this, and your new case will be assigned to you tomorrow morning"

"Your rules make me sick Kingsley. You don't realise how difficult this is for me. You are asking me to cease all operations that would help me track my parents. And the cherry on the top is that for the next entire year i'm going to be looking for others." I shouted, this attitude in Hogwarts would have resulted in 10000000000 points being deducted from Gryffindor.

"it does not matter whether or not you sign the papers Hermione, the operations will cease anyway. And i am not going to let you wait for tomorrow morning to get your next case" he dug his hand into his briefcase and removed a folder and handed it over to me " Here, this is your next case. Put in all of your efforts Hermione. Please" . and with that he left

This was exactly how Department of Lost worked. The department was formed after the war when a lot of wizards disappeared. And when the families approached the Ministry for help, the ministry transferred the cases to us. Most of the missing wizards were usually found dead, and for the rest of them, we were given one year to look for them. And if they cannot be found within one year, those cases are given up. And that is what exactly happened with my parents. They are lost and they may never be found again.

And with that thought, my headache came back to me. and with a heavy heart, I opened the folder. And as I read the name, my heart skipped a beat. Not even in my wildest dreams would I have actually thought that DRACO MALFOY would be missing.

So, this is my first try at fanfiction. I am open to suggestions and would love it if you guys would review!

Thank You! :D


	2. Wands at the Ready

**So, I got 3 reviews and that means a lot to me! Thank You so much! :D**

 **dungbombacidpops** **here you go, everything is in bold now**

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 **And here is the next chapter .. I'm so excited!**

* * *

Wands at the ready

"Ms. Granger?"

Goosebumps. Goosebumps. Goosebumps.

Never had my own name scared me. But also, never had that ice cold voice sounded so worried .But what really got me was the crying man standing at the door.

"Mr. Malfoy", I said with a hint of concern. And it was not a concern for his lost son, it was a concern for the lost Lucius Malfoy . In front of me was not the Malfoy i grew up hating, rather the man in front of me was a mere reflection of him. The arrogance in his body was nowhere to be found and his eyes were the worst, they were full of pain.

I must have been staring at him for too long now because he made no effort in hiding his discomfort.

"Do you mind if I take a seat?" he asked, after what must have been a millennium.

"I am so sorry. Please take a seat Mr. Malfoy"

"As you must be aware, my son is missing. And since you are on the case, I am hoping that you don't let your past affect this case." He whispered

"Mr. Malfoy, I am going to ask you something and I need you to be completely honest with me. Your son disappeared 2 days after the war and you reported the case only yesterday morning. Why did you take so much time?" I asked. And to my surprise, he smiled.

"It is because of you Ms. Granger. I wanted you to handle the case."

Goosebumps. Goosebumps. Goosebumps.

"Huh?" and just like him, I made no effort in hiding my discomfort.

"My wife insisted on having you on the case. She said that out of everyone in the department, you would do the job sincerely and find our son. I understand your confusion. But you should really listen to what my wife has to say about this case" he looked at me in the hope of gaining my approval and then continued " she said that you would understand what this case means. We are on the other side of your boat Ms. Granger, just like you lost your parents, we lost our son. We lost family. And you know the pain to live without family better than anyone else in the department. Please find my son." And for the first time in my life Lucius Malfoy begged, begged for my help.

I managed to smile and hoped that he would take it as a cue to leave, which he thankfully did.

His exit was welcomed with tears. When I woke up this morning, the thought of Lucius Malfoy giving me a reality check had not even crossed my mind. But the most important lesson that I learnt today was that Malfoys will always have a way of getting to you. And with that I wiped away my tears and walked out of my office.

"Kingsley!" I shouted the moment I spotted him in the crowd standing near the Ancient Potions Department.

"Ah! Ms. Granger, how are you today?" he asked once he spotted me

"Lets not go there. I am assuming you have found Draco Malfoys wand and conducted all preliminary tests on it. So can I have the report of the tests and the wand by 11? I will send Liz to pick it up from your office. Thank you." I flashed him my best fake smile and left the moment he nodded. Kingsley did not deserve my kindness.

* * *

I knew it was going to be a long day when I saw Lucius Malfoy at my doorstep. Honestly, I was strangely looking forward to finding his son for him. I wanted to know why a Pureblood like him would run away. Yes, he is definitely alive and has run away. I just know it. But I have to know why he would run away when everything was coming back to normal after the war. I mean, he wasn't even accused of any crimes because the Ministry went easy on the Malfoys.

Okay, I need to take my mind off this case for at least 5 minutes and breathe!

And before I knew it I had already seated myself in Harry's office. Damn it Malfoy.

"everything good Mione?" he asked with his eyes fixed on me

"Did you know Draco Malfoy has been missing for a year?" I went straight for it

"WHAT?!"

I couldn't help but smile at his reaction. Also, I learnt that there was no reason for Draco Malfoy to be missing in these times.

"Yes, I got his case yesterday night and this morning Mr. Lucius Malfoy was in my office."

"But why would Malfoy disappear? I mean the Ministry gave the Malfoys a clean slate. I cannot possibly think of a reason why he would just vanish in thin air."

"I know Harry. Anyway, where is Ron? I have not seen him since the past 3 days."

"Do you want me to transfer Rons case to you then?" Harry teased. This was his best joke, if you cannot find someone, put them through the Department of Lost. And as usual, I smiled at his old joke.

"Ginny would not be happy if you went missing Harry" , now that always shuts him up.

" To answer your question, Ron has gone out to meet Lavenders parents. He won't be back till Friday."

"Right. I received the letter, I just didn't have time to open it. But now that I know what was in the letter, I'll right him back" I glanced at my watch and realised I have to leave , "umm, Harry I have to leave. I have to meet the Malfoys at the Malfoy Manor to get some more information about Malfoy. I will catch up with you later?"

Harry definitely didn't like the idea of me going to the Malfoy Manor. It was written across his face.

"No. You're not going over there alone. No. No."

"Harry, this is my job. No matter how much I hate my present case, I still have to go. And you cannot come. You're an auror so stick to your job." I said as I put my overcoat on.

"You are most certainly not doing this alone. How about this, you let me come this one time and later on you can go alone. Please." His eyes bore the look of concern and I just couldn't shake it off.

"Fine, but just this one time"

"Yes, just let me get my coat"

* * *

I absolutely hate disapparation. It makes my stomach twist and turn and it almost always feels like I have left my eyes behind. But this time, my destination was even more horrible than my journey- Malfoy Manor. And this time I wished that I had actually left my eyes behind because never had the Manor looked so gloomy, and believe me, that's saying something.

"Wands at the ready?" said the Boy who Lived

"Wands at the ready."

* * *

 **Please please review and let me know if I can make any improvements. And also, I am looking for a Beta so if anyone is interested please message me!**

 **Thank you so much.. and I will update soon!** **:D**


	3. Blood on the Mud

**Blood on the Mud**

"It is sunny today"

"And yet the Manor looks gloomy. Has it always looked so gloomy?"

"Honestly, it has always looked gloomy to me Harry. But somehow, it has managed to look even more... umm, gloomy"

Could this be possible? Can it really be possible that the Malfoys are mourning the loss of their son?

"He was our only son, Ms. Granger" said a mumbling voice

Goosebumps. Goosebumps. Goosebumps.

And just like Lucius Malfoy, the lady in front of me and Harry was a mere reflection of the Narcissa Malfoy we knew. I could feel Harry's defence soften and I couldn't blame him for that. Harry believed in good and most importantly he respected the courage Narcissa Malfoy had shown which had saved the entire wizarding population. As for me, she was the lesser of the two evils currently residing in the Manor.

"Mrs. Malfoy, I am so sorry for your loss. I really am." Harry said with all due respect

"Thank you Potter. I appreciate you coming over here, but believe me we have no intentions of hurting Ms. Granger. After all she is the one who is going to find my son for me." said the timid lady in front of me with a strange twinkle in her eyes.

"Umm.. where is your husband?" I had to be sure that he wasn't devising a plan to kill me the moment I would enter his old ugly house. But what really bugged me was how Narcissa had managed to read my mind. Did she know Occlumency?

"He is inside. Ever since he came back from his meeting, he has been cleaning the house to make it presentable for your visit. He knew you were going to drop by soon." She said with the same twinkle in her eyes.

"Well he didn't do a very good job at making the house presentable, did he?" I couldn't help but make the snide comment and roll my eyes at her. Okay, that was rude. And I really don't think I can justify myself.

"Mione!" harry whispered with a scowl "I am so sorry Mrs. Malfoy. She has had a long day. And don't worry I won't be accompanying her for her next visit or visits." He ended with a smile which warm enough to wipe the frown off Narcissas face.

"Actually, he won't even be accompanying me inside Mrs. Malfoy." I interjected "You should leave Harry, I will take care of myself and if I need your help I will get in touch with you." That was more of an order for Harry and he knew he couldn't protest in front of Narcissa.

"Okay. Ginny will be expecting you for dinner. I will see you then." Came his reply. He was obviously angry but I couldn't let Harry meddle with my case.

And within seconds my eyes couldn't find him but clearly someone's eyes had found me and was shooting daggers at me.

"Mrs. Malfoy, can you lead me to your sons room?"I got down to business. I wanted to get over with this case as soon as I could.

She wanted to say something. Was it something important? I would never know the answer to that question. She started walking through the gardens, or what was left of them, to the opposite side of the Manor.

"Where are you taking me?" my question reeked of disgust

"Don't worry, I am not going to kill you Ms. Granger. The keys to the Manor are in my house. You see, me and my husband don't live in the Manor anymore. So we built a house on the grounds." She said and stopped and turned. "I know you don't like me or any of my family members but please don't let that get in the way of finding my son. I know we haven't had the best past records and I don't expect you to understand our situation or forgive us. But please, just find our son for me." here she was, Narcissa Malfoy, begging to a Mudblood in the forlorn grounds of the Malfoy Manor.

"I lost my parents to the war. What you have to understand Mrs. Malfoy that there is a chance that we may not find him or there may be nothing to find."

She could sense the hopelessness in my voice.

"I know Ms. Granger. And I am really sorry to hear about your parents. Have you ever gotten the feeling that even though they might be lost, they never really left?"

I know she wanted a response but I didn't want to give her one. I couldn't tell her that I believe that her son is not dead, I didn't want to give her false expectations. Even though I didn't like her, giving her false expectations didn't seem right.

My silence was enough of an answer for her because she was back to walking towards her house and not the Malfoy Manor. I knew the grounds of the Manor were huge but I had never thought of them to be this huge. The grass had disappeared from most of the places giving way to rocky paths and there was not a single sign of any of the house elves. Now finding the house elves would be a more interesting case than finding Malfoy.

"Here we are" murmured Narcissa

At the sight of the house I stopped on the tracks. The house had proven to be a relief to my eyes who had gotten tired of watching the forlorn Manor which had once been the headquarters to the Dark Lord. The house was unlike anything I would've ever imagined the Malfoys living in. It seemed cosy from where I was standing and honestly it looked like a house wherein the muggles would reside. It had a small garden which was lush green and a house that was big enough for 3 grown ups. I couldn't help but smile, and not at the plight of the Malfoys, rather I was smiling at the house that oddly reminded me of my parents house.

"Please come in Ms. Granger. The keys of Dracos room are inside the house."

That broke my trance.

"Wait. Dracos room isn't in the house?"

"No, sadly he disappeared before we even made the house. But please do come in"

She opened the gate and walked towards the house. Wow, they fenced their entire house! I followed her and was greeted with the smell of roses. Ah! So this is where the elves have been utilising their time. Case solved. I was feeling happy, right then and there, in that garden I was feeling happy and for the first time since the war ended, I felt like I was home.

"It's okay dear. You can cry if you want to, I mean it wouldn't really change how things are but you would feel a lot more better. I know I felt better every time I cried over losing my son." I wasn't even aware that I had stopped halfway through the garden and was staring at the roses with glassy eyes let alone realising that I was on the verge of tears in the presence of Malfoys. Yet somehow, her voice seemed to comfort me and her presence only made me feel better. I didn't feel alone.

"Thank you Mrs. Malfoy." I said, blinking as fast I could to withhold all of my tears. " I don't think I will come in right now and it will be so faster if you could just get the keys yourself."

To that she nodded and left . I heard the door open and close behind me and waited for that to happen again. I was confused now, confused as to where I should look to not feel horrible about myself. I didn't want to look at the manor because that made my hand cold, I didn't want to look at the house that reminded me of my own house and I most definitely didn't want to look at the roses, so I decided to look at the ground instead. There wasn't much of a ground to look at, it was all grass and roses, only the pathway in between the house and the gates didn't have grass but it did have something else on it. I bent down to get a better look at it, and I wasn't surprised when I saw blood on the mud.

I got up and walked towards the house and opened it. I don't think I should ask for permission when Lucius Malfoy is brewing a plan to kill me.

"YOU! HOW DARE YOU?" I shouted at him as I burst into the living room with my wand pointed at him.

And I was greeted with embarrassment. Gosh! I wish I could just let their past not get into my mind. There he was, the great Lucius Malfoy trying to clean his wounded leg in the kitchen sink and lets not even get started on his squinted eyes and confused face looking at me.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry... Are you okay Mr. Malfoy?"

He kept staring at me and I couldn't help but feel ashamed of what I had done.

I heard footsteps hurrying towards the living room and I prepared myself for more embarrassment. Naricssa Malfoy entered the room with a worried look.

"Are you okay hon?" she asked Lucius as she walked towards him. "I don't think you're supposed to clean your wound in the kitchen sink. Why don't you sit down and I will clean it for you?"

He nodded and walked past me and sat down on the sofa. But he was still dumbstruck and was looking at me like a mad man. I hung my head in shame.

"Ms. Granger, can you please take a look at Dracos room by yourself? His room is on the third floor of the Forest wing, or at least what is left of it. For the forest wing you walk towards the back gate and take a left and you will reach the Forest Wing." Said Narcissa as she handed me the keys to his room.

And just like Lucius I was staring at her like a mad man. And finally my senses kicked in and I nodded at her and prepared to leave.

"Ms. Granger, I was not planning to kill you. I cut myself while I was trimming the grass in the garden. I can assure you that I have no intentions of killing you." Said Lucius in his cold voice as he came out of his own trance.

Seriously. Can the entire family read my mind?


	4. The Dragons Cell

The Dragons Cell

I was relieved to leave their house. So relieved! Since it was going to be a long walk towards Malfoys room, I had removed my heels and walked barefoot on the rocky path to the forest wing. Even though it was sunny, the rocks weren't hot enough to burn my legs. My long list of questions would have to wait since Mrs. Malfoy was attending Mr. Malfoy. But that is not going to stop me from wondering about them.

After the brief meeting I had with them I had concluded the following points :-

The elves were not taking care of their gardens, Mr. Malfoy was. That means I still have to look for them.

Both the Malfoys can read my mind.

The loss of their son has caused them to lose their minds. That's the only reason behind them living like muggles in their own house.

This case has so many complexities.

And finally, I had reached my destination – Forest Wing. Narcissa was right, there was not much of a forest left but then again I was comparing the forest to the Forbidden Forests of Hogwarts. I opened the door of the wing with one of the keys out of the bunch of keys she had given me. The door was about 10 times my own height and as it creaked open I dropped my heels at the door and went inside.

...

I was panting by the time I reached the third floor. They should really install elevators and escalators! I mean really, if you expect a boy to climb three flights of stairs he will run away! Oh, my stomach was paining.

And just like Narcissa had said, third floor had Malfoys room, only difference was that the third floor was Malfoys room. The room was beautiful even though it once was the room of a boy who used to make my life living hell. Okay, now I have to get down to business.

Right before I had left for the Manor, Liz had brought Kingsleys report to me. According to it, Malfoys wand was found on his bed and he had not used the wand at all. The wand had been returned to him after the war had ended and he hadn't used the wand at all. So, there was really nothing to look for in the wand and without a wand, we can't track a wizard. This wasn't right. It seemed as if he didn't want to be tracked. The entire report was filled with trash, things that would hold absolutely no importance in finding Draco Malfoy.

There was just one thing left now. I have to go through his stuff in order to find out if Draco Malfoy had something up his sleeve. Great, now where should I start? I looked around and settled on his wardrobe which was on the other side of room or the floor. I walked towards his wardrobe and opened the door only to realise that I hadn't really seen the entire room until now. The wardrobe was humongous and was divided into sections marked Shoes, Clothes, Glasses and so on. This day is going to be longer than I had expected because in front of me were thousands of drawers and cupboards.

...

I found a pot of gold, no really, I literally found a pot of gold in his wardrobe. But other than that I found nothing after 6 hours of scrounging through his carefully organised wardrobe. Honestly, I wasn't really expecting to find some diary of Draco Malfoy which showed him in a different light. But I was hoping to end my site inspection in one day and by the looks of it I don't think this will end anytime soon considering if all his remaining rooms are of this size!

I walked out of his wardrobe and put a yellow strip mark on it indicating that this area had been covered. I looked at my watch and realised that it was 8 in the evening.

"Shoot, I had to meet Harry and Ginny for dinner!" I mumbled to myself

I called it a day and walked out of the room and locked it behind me and walked downstairs. The entire Manor was dark and the only source of light was the light that was coming out of my wand. Somehow I reached the doors of the Forest Wing. I had to tell Narcissa that I was leaving and the keys will be staying with me until I complete my search. Good Lord, this was going to be a long walk.

...

Their house wasn't difficult to spot. It had bright yellow lights which seemed to invite everyone in sight. It was the Manor that could use some lights, because even as I was standing next to the Manor you wouldn't be able to spot the Manor.

I finally reached their house and could hear laughter inside. Okay, now I am a 100% sure that they just want to kill me. Even though I didn't want to, I still knocked. And when the door opened I met another surprise.

"Blaise Zabini" I said with a tired voice

"Hermione Granger. Pleasure to meet you" said Blaise Zabini in his failed attempt to sound charming.

"Ms. Granger, we saved some dinner for you. And I can see that you're starving. Why don't you go wash yourself while I serve dinner for you?" said Narcissa in an attempt to break the tension.

"Oh! No, it is fine. I already have dinner with Harry and Ginny. Anyway, I am going to hold onto the keys of the Forest Wing for a little longer. And I will be back here tomorrow morning ." I said without breaking eye contact with Blaise, " Goodnight."

I could tell that she was disappointed to hear that. She must have wanted to know if I had any news for her but at that point I really didn't care, I just needed to get out and breathe air which wasn't Malfoy infested.

"Well Granger, I am leaving too, how about I walk you to the gate?" Blaise spoke with a certain request in his voice.

"Sure"

"Okay, goodnight Mrs. Malfoy" he said and kissed her cheek and turned towards Lucius who had kept his bandaged leg on the table " goodnight Mr. Malfoy, and take care of your leg, I'll probably meet you next week." And with that we both left the house.

And as soon as the Malfoys were out of sight, Blaise Zabini said something that changed everything.

"Malfoy isn't dead."

"WHAT?!"

"Believe me Granger, Malfoy isn't dead, he is simply running"

"Running? Are you daft, Zabini?"

"I am simply helping you"

"Sure. And who exactly is Malfoy running away from?"

"Himself."

And with that Zabini disapparated.

* * *

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	5. Home Sweet Home

Home Sweet Home

"Welcome home!"

"Last I checked, this was my house"

"Well I knew that you were not going to show up for dinner at the Burrow, so we brought the Burrow to your house" said one of the redheads. I don't know which one, but I am guessing it was George.

Yes, they had somehow managed to cramp in my living room and yet they were grinning at me like there was enough space for 100 more people.

"Hermione dear!" said the mother hen, "it has been so long since I have seen you" she said while pulling me into one of the warmest hugs I had received in months.

"Mrs. Weasley", I squealed. These people, right here, were the closest thing I had to a family.

"Well, dinner has been served and you look exhausted so wash up quickly and join us, okay?" said Mrs. Weasley

"Yes Ma'am" I couldn't help but smile at her orders.

I tried to leave the room quietly but the redheads just wouldn't let that happen. Ah! This was home, or the closest I would ever be to one. Did I have an exhausting day? Yes, a very exhausting day and this was the perfect way to end it. Malfoys had taken a toll on me both emotionally and physically and the Weasleys were my motivation. I am telling you, stay in a room with them for 10 minutes and you will feel super charged and probably take on the Dark Lord once more... then again it is a probable situation.

My apartment was an extremely small one after all it was meant for just one person. One small living room, a small open kitchen and a hall that would lead you to two doors. The left one is my room and the right one is the bath, which too is a small one. My ideal apartment was supposed to be three times the size of my present one in order to accommodate a library and lets face it some fresh air. I changed into my nightwear and entered the overly crowded living room.

"where is my couch?"

"You honestly don't expect us to eat all this food standing up? Really Mione?", that was most definitely George

"You're a funny man George, but really, where is it?"

He walked over to me and handed me a small box.

"Here, this is your couch. Happy now?" he asked with a crooked smile

"I am on cloud nine" I replied with equal sarcasm.

"Now let's focus on the food, shall we?", said Ginny trying to place the food on the floor

"Let the feast begin" cheered Mr. Weasley

...

I had eaten so much that I didn't want to move. The fear of the food coming out of my mouth kept me still like a statue. Gosh! I had really lost my appetite in the past couple of months. And it isn't just my appetite that I had lost, I had lost my ability to keep a conversation going which tonight I had successfully found.

"Hermione, Harry here told me that Draco Malfoy went missing 2 days after the war, is that true?" asked Mr. Weasley

"Yes, that's true. He went missing 2 days after the war but it was reported only yesterday night."

"That is strange. And Kingsley didn't have anything to say about this?"

Huh. I never really asked Kingsley why he had transferred a case that wasn't even on the list. Department of Lost and Found worked on a first come first serve basis. Obviously the Malfoys would've made a generous donation but that would give no reason to Kingsley to transfer the case to me.

"I didn't ask him that. Although I did go to the Malfoy Manor today for site inspection and you wouldn't believe what I saw over there" , I told them everything and left out my meeting with Zabini or the fact that I thought Lucius Malfoy was trying to kill me.

"You shouldn't be going over there alone Hermione dear. You should take someone along, you know just in case." The mother hen gave her motherly advice. And at that I wanted to actually consider it but I couldn't.

"Anyway, Gin, how is school? Are you enjoying this year?" I had to change the topic. I didn't want any more of them to tell me that I shouldn't be going over there alone.

"It is boring" she replied quickly

"I wonder why" said George while pretending to think. That was enough for Harry and Ginny to show all of us 50 shades of red.

That is it. This was the perfect way to end my long day. And with a heavy stomach, I walked them to the door.

"Oh, Hermione, which reminds me, do come in for dinner tomorrow night, Ronald is coming back early. So don't forget to come for dinner tomorrow. Okay? And I am not taking a no for an answer." Said Mrs. Weasley

"There is no reason for me to say no Mrs. Weasley. I will be there as soon as possible, I promise. Goodnight!" I said as I saw them disappear in front of my eyes.

They still expect things to awkward between me and Ron. They just don't understand when we say that we drifted apart and fell out of love. The war changed all of us, while Ron was grieving over the loss of his brother, I wasted no time in finding my parents. Distance does make the heart grow fonder but sometimes quoting a quote is just not enough. We kept in touch and tried to keep a relationship but it was evident to both of us that Ron needed someone physically present and I just couldn't do that. Initially I wasn't happy to hear that Ron was seeking emotional comfort in Lavender but I also couldn't not see the stable Ron, so I decided to let him go. She took care of him and was present for all of his big moments. I was everywhere but next to him and I had come to terms with that and so did he. We still loved each other but not enough to sacrifice ourselves.

As I made myself comfortable in my bed, I readied myself for another long day. I don't remember days being this long when I was looking for my parents. Back then, days went flying by with absolutely no developments. And before I knew it, one year was over and things had changed or probably remained the same. I don't know.

...

I didn't see the need to let the Malfoys be aware of my presence so I quietly walked past their house and reached the Forest Wing. This time I had prepared myself for the long walks and had chosen to wear something more comfortable. And the wing still looked gloomy, wow, everything around here looks as if they're mourning the loss of the heir of the Malfoys.

I had just reached the second floor which led to the entrance of Malfoys room when it dawned on me that if I don't find anything in Malfoys room, I might have to actually search the entire Manor. Oh, the thought of the looking for clues in the entire manor made my stomach do back flips. Maybe I should gather a team for site inspection and get them to look in the minor areas while I do the important areas.

Slowly I ascended towards Malfoys room. I had inspected his wardrobe yesterday which left me with the actual bedroom, bathroom and two other doors that I was too scared to open.

"Bathroom. I think I should start with his bathroom." I whispered to myself. I walked towards the door which was closest to bed and opened it only to be greeted with the biggest bathroom that I had ever seen in my life.

"Was he trying to get the whole wizarding population to have a bath here?" I sneered to myself

"When you are a pureblood, you are made to believe that you are superior to everyone. You try to show off even the smallest item in your possession" , so Mrs. Malfoy did know that I was here.

I turned around bracing myself to hear a speech. But that didn't happen. Shocker.

"Am I interrupting you Ms. Granger?"

"I was about to look for clues or anything in your sons bathroom"

"oh, would you be needing help?"

Is this for real? Is Narcissa Malfoy really willing to help?

"No no, it is fine. There is nothing that I can't handle Mrs. Malfoy"

"Okay, I will see you during lunch then. I am preparing slow cooked beef for the three of us. I hope to see you by 2 then?" she smiled

"I am carrying my own lunch. Thank you for the offer"

That wiped the smile off her face. I felt guilty for doing that but I could not wrap my brains around the fact that the Malfoys had changed.

"I understand. Let me know if you need anything at all dear" with that she turned to leave

"Answers. I need answers" , yep, this was the moment of truth.

...

To my surprise she was ready to cooperate with me. she quietly sat down on her sons bed while I pulled a chair and sat facing her.

"Where are your elves?"

"The Ministry gave us our lives back, so in order to show our gratitude, we released them. We have only one elf who visits us every month and helps around with the maintenance of the Manor. His name is Tungsten. We pay him for his service."

"And how long have you known and practiced Occlumency?"

"Never learnt it. Neither of us actually, well only Draco learnt it from Severus. He also mastered Legilimency."

"What about you?"

"No. Out of the three of us only Draco could perform both Occlumency and Legilimency. And why do you ask that dear?"

Why can she not stop calling me dear.

"So you haven't read my mind at all?" I couldn't hide my shock

She smiled before answering. "I only read you Ms. Granger, not your mind. You made it apparent that you don't like us and to be honest that is completely fine with us. My family has done nothing but hurt your family. Because of people like us, people like you had to lose your family. I know to you it seems fair that we lost our son considering how many families would have lost their son due to the war." I could see that she was no more talking to me, she was in fact confessing to me everything that she had ever felt, " and let me just put it there, my son was no saint but he never wanted any of this. He never wanted the war and he never wanted to follow anyone's orders. He was a bully, yes, but he was true to himself. He was perfect in my eyes. When my son disappeared, everyone thought he had died or well at least hoped that he had died, but I know he isn't dead, he is out there Ms. Granger, living on his own conditions." She looked at me with hopeful eyes " Find him Ms. Granger, please."

I believed her. Even though I did not want to, I still did. And that concluded everything I ever wanted to find in my site inspection. After this conversation, I was utmost sure that Malfoys parents were not involved in this at all.

"Would you be needing anything else?"

"Umm, no" I nodded at her and to that she stood up " Oh, wait! Mrs. Malfoy!" and she sat down " did your son have any visitors right before his disappearance?"

"Yes, he did have visitors. But Draco didn't want to meet anyone of them so I had to send them back. On his last days Draco spent most of his time in his library"

"Library?"

"Yes, he was an avid reader. You name the book and he would pour you all of its contents." She beamed when she said that.

"He did play the guitar and the piano, but he stopped after the 4th year."

"Okay, now this library, where did you say that is?

"She pointed at the door on the farthest right which was next to the wardrobe. That one is the library and the other on is where he kept his instruments"

And with that we concluded our meeting. She left after taking a quick look around the room hoping to catch a glimpse of her son.

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	6. Visitors

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Visitors

 _Liz,_

 _I'm currently at the Malfoy Manor looking for clues. There has been certain change of plan, I will not be spending my entire day over here, I will be coming to the Ministry during lunch time. Now you are to make sure that you carefully do everything that I ask you to do._

 _There is a house elf called Tungsten, look him up and schedule our meeting at 4. Also, schedule a meeting with Kingsley at 1, you HAVE to do it. Get Jacque to track all of Draco Malfoys friends, especially Blaise Zabini, and this should be done by tomorrow evening._

 _And please let Headmaster McGonagall that I will be paying her a visit tomorrow morning, tell her it will be better if she would clear up her entire day._

 _Hermione_

 _P.S. Inform Harry Potter that I will meet him directly at the Burrow._

I read the letter to myself and had to send it through Mrs. Malfoys owl. And for that I had to walk to their owlery, which as usual was far away from Malfoys Room. The owlery was situated on the top floor of the Head Tower, which meant that I had to walk halfway through the Manor and climb a flight of stairs.

"Escalators and Elevators" I said while I trying to catch my breath. I had finally reached the owlery that was home to only one owl, Bori. I fed Bori a little and then sent him to my office with the letter. This place was ghastly and there is no better way of saying that.

Sending the letter must have taken me an hour or so and frankly I was already tired of all the climbing and walking. No wonder the Malfoys moved out of the Manor! And finally I had reached my destination : Draco Malfoys Library.

...

"Oh, my God", those three words will never fully describe the emotion I felt after entering the library.

The library was by far the biggest library I had ever been to. Even Hogwarts didn't possess a library this big. And like a little girl, I ran in between all the shelves while trying to get a feel of all the books. This was heaven! Right here, right now! The books had been neatly organised in the shelves and they were divided categorically. Wow. And the best part was that there was no Forbidden Section! I could roam around this place without any rules. Yes! But just like every celebration of mine, this too was short lived.

"I can see you have found the library"

Goosebumps. Goosebumps. Goosebumps.

I really can't believe Lucius Malfoys timing. And I really cannot believe that he climbed three flights of stairs with that wounded leg of his.

"I am sorry Mr. Malfoy"

"Don't be. Anyway, here" he slid his hands inside his pockets and I braced myself for a vicious attack, " here are the keys his drawer"

With trembling hands I took the keys. It was strange to see Lucius Malfoy so soft, maybe that is what scared me.

Once the keys were in my hand, he nodded and turned to leave. And just when I thought that he was gone for good... "And Ms. Granger, there are about 80,000 bookshelves over here. Tell me, do you plan on running in between them too?" the tease in his voice wasn't hard to find.

I hung my head in shame. At this very moment I felt like I was being caught while eating chocolates by my father. Oh, my God. My father. The library didn't seem fun anymore. I didn't want to roam around it anymore. I just wanted my father and my mother. And before I knew it, my headache was back and everything around me had turned to black.

...

My head ached. As a matter of fact, my entire body was paining and my vision was black. I could hear whispers next to me, wait, Harry is here and... someone else is here too. It took me all of my energy to open my eyes only for me to close them the second I opened them. The lights were too bright.

"Hermione, are you okay?"

"Darling say something"

"Are you fine?"

There were too many voices. And I couldn't recognise any one of them! With a lot of efforts, I once again opened my eyes. And I could see everyone of them.

"Ah! Oh dear, you had us all worried!" said Molly as she pulled me into a hug

"What happened? And why am I at St. Mungos?"

"Mr. Malfoy found you unconscious. He brought you here and then owled us all to come over here", Harry said

"Did he do something to you Hermione? Don't be afraid, just tell us, did he do something to you?"Ron said as he put his arm around me. I didn't know that Ron was here and now that he is here, I am glad he is here.

"Umm, I don't know" and before I could continue, Healer Marson entered the room.

"HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO ASK YOU ALL TO END THE NONSENSE?" he shouted. Healer Marson was one of the best healers St. Mungos ever had. And frankly speaking, Healer Marson was also the most scariest healers St. Mungos ever had. He wasn't scary looking at all but there was just something about him that scared everyone of us.

He made his way through the room and took my hand.

"You need a break. That headache will not go on its own. You passed out at the Malfoy Manor due to the headache and you and I both know it. So, you are not going to be in charge of the case. I have written to the Ministry and as we are talking they must have already appointed a new head of the Malfoy case. You are emotionally sick Hermione, so you can go on a vacation or hang out with friends but you cannot go to the Ministry. And no arguing at all. Okay?"

I couldn't respond to that. I was glad that I was off the case but I didn't want to be off the case. I wanted to say something but I was at a loss of words. I simply looked around the room with the hope that someone will understand me and speak on my behalf but that didn't happen.

"No." I whispered

"You don't have a say in this Hermione. You are unfit to find anyone, hence you are off the case. So sit back and relax. You can go back to work after 6 or 7 months and that is non-negotiable." Healer Marson had the last word.

"Where are the Malfoys?"

I could hear everyone take a sharp breath. Now, I am officially emotionally unfit for everything.

"They are outside. Do you want to talk to them?" Harry asked. Thank god he understood me.

"Yes. I want to talk to them alone."

"Are you daft Hermione?" Ron couldn't believe his ears.

"Ron." Harry kept my case.

I watched everyone leave the room with worry. They definitely think that I have lost my mind.

"How are you doing Ms. Granger?" Narcissa asked

"Medically I am unstable to handle any case. That is the reason why I called you both in. I am sorry, but I am sure that they will transfer your sons case to someone equally capable. They will do their best to find your son Mr. And Mrs. Malfoy", I couldn't look them in their eyes. It felt as if I was betraying them and I just didn't want to do that.

There was silence. Silence which would have been there for years or centuries had Lucius not spoken up.

"We understand. Thank you for everything Ms. Granger" he said. I could feel him crying and like a coward I couldn't look him in the face.

I could hear them both crying and silently I was crying too. I had let them down. And it hurt, oh, it hurt so bad.

"Cissy brought some books for you. Here" he said while he kept the books on the stand "Take care Ms. Granger" and with that they both left. I will have to thank Harry for not letting anyone come in the room after that.

The hospital was going to release me the next morning which meant that I was going to be spending the night here. And I knew that sleep was going to elude me. The entire night I stared at the ceiling with my mind blank.

Till now I had never felt alone in the company books. Today that was an exception. Today, I had been the loneliest I have ever been.

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	7. Let me help You

Let me help you

"This is stupid."

"Yes, now take some rest"

"No. I still don't understand how I am emotionally unfit"

"Mione, honey, I am getting late. We will meet up for dinner and talk about this." And with that Ron placed a kiss on my forehead and got up to leave.

"It was really kind of you to accompany me from hospital to home. Thank you Ron"

"wow, the hospital really changed you! Now get some sleep and we will all meet you for dinner, okay?"

I simply nodded. It was unfair. What was I supposed to do with all this free time in my hand? I had already ruled out going for a vacation so that left me with absolutely nothing to do. I got up from my bed and walked into the living room hoping to find some kind of work – nada.

I swept through The Daily Prophet to find out about any developments about Malfoys case. And obviously Kingsley had stopped any news from reaching the press. This case was too guarded to be allowed in the media.

"Fine, if they won't tell me I will find about this on my own." And finally I had something to do. With that I got up and rushed to get ready. With all this excitement my head felt heavier than it should have but I chose to ignore it. Keeping my perfectly fine head away from excitement would just make me go crazy.

It was around 11 that I was completely ready. As a cover up I had owled Harry and Ron that I was out for house hunting. And with everything taken care of, I disapparated to my dreaded destination – Malfoy Manor.

...

I didn't land on my feet, but at least I landed with my head still in place. And when I got up, I was greeted to a different sight. Instead of the deserted Manor, I was now looking at a sealed Manor with a lot of people coming in and out of it. I walked towards their direction until I was stopped by one of the guards.

"Lady, show me your badge"

"What?" I was confused. What was happening over here? Why had they sealed the Manor?

And from a distance I heard a different voice shout at me.

"Hermione Granger. You know I had expected to see you!"

I had to strain my eyes to see the figure walking towards me.

"Who are you?"

"I am Vince Strule. I am in charge of the case now. I thought you must have been informed by now" He said. He was well built with dark eyes and I am 100% sure that I have never seen this guy on my floor.

"I was not informed about you. But what are you doing over here? Why are you sealing the Manor?"

"Because you made the mistake of not doing so. It was a rookie mistake I must say." He said with smugness engulfed in his voice.

"That is because it was not needed. You will not find anything over here."

"Ouch. That one hurts." He said with goofiness which clearly didn't impress me. This guy didn't care one bit about looking for Malfoy, he was just killing time.

"You know you could have consulted me before doing starting. After all, I was in charge of the case before you"

"Yes, you were in charge of the case for 2 days. Now what could you have possibly found out that I wouldn't find out?" he snapped at me.

"Look-"

"No, you look. Stay out of this case, this case is mine. And if I find you causing trouble, like you are creating one right now, Kingsley will see to it that the Ministry doesn't hire you back." He said sternly and walked away. "Now I think you can very well get yourself out of here. Thank you Ms. Granger"

This guy didn't mean business. He was just wasting time. Oh, god! What must the Malfoys be going through right now? I had to go see them. And so I started walking on the grounds of the Manor towards their house.

They were not sitting in their garden and the window was shut. Were they even home? I walked up to the door of the house and knocked. I was about to leave when I heard shuffling inside the house and then finally the door was opened. I was greeted by a tired Lucius Malfoy.

"Ms. Granger! Are you okay?"

"Yes, I am fine. Thank you. Do you mind if I come inside?"

I can tell that Lucius was taken aback from my question. He thought for a few seconds until he nodded and fully opened the door for me. The living room was sparkling clean and so was the kitchen.

"Cissy is upstairs. I will go get her." he said and left to get his wife.

I couldn't digest that I had voluntarily entered the Malfoy household. Were the medications really that strong?

"Hermione! It's so nice to see you!" and that was Narcissa

I couldn't say that back to her so I smile while all the three of us seated ourselves.

"Are they giving you back the case?" Lucius blurted out.

I couldn't look at him or answer him. I kept silent to which he responded with a nod.

"But I hope that they find your son."

"To be honest, I think we have lost our son forever now." Lucius spoke. And I knew he was right. "Give me your honest opinion Ms. Granger. We don't want to hear the sugar coated version of it."

Narcissa looked at her husband with horror. Every word coming out of his mouth cut her into pieces and I was worried that mine would do the same.

"One year from now your son will be categorised into loss. His name would appear under my parents' names. And for the next 10 years or so, no one will be allowed to look for these names. So, yeah.." I took a deep breath to continue " Your son is never going to find home."

This was it. A broken Hermione had broken two souls in front of her. time had frozen for them. The look of horror didn't seem to leave their faces. And I wanted to comfort them and tell them that it was going to be ok but I couldn't do it. I just could not lie to them. I could not give them hope that will ultimately crush them.

I realised I wasn't invited here anymore so I got up to leave.

"Stay." Narcissa whispered. It wasn't an order nor was it a request, it was a plea, a plea from a mourning mother and I just could not defy her. I sat down on the couch again.

And waited.

...

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	8. Fast Forward

Fast forward 

"They will be here in a few minutes."

"Where are the plates?"

"Everyone be seated"

"Where are the plates? Ginerva!"

"Harry"

"George, NO!"

"Percy, get him!"

"Where are the plates? George!"

"Dad! He is pulling my hair"

Crack.

"Mom, they are here"

And with that the whole commotion in the Burrow came to a halt. Wow, and I hadn't said a word till now. I could hear the footsteps running towards the door to welcome our guests, it was definitely Mrs. Weasley.

"Ah! Mr. And Mrs. Malfoy, welcome!" said Mrs. Weasley with warmth dripping from her voice.

"Now that is something I had never thought I would hear in this house" whispered George to Harry loud enough for everyone to hear him.

The Malfoys were too scared to move. They had never in their entire life seen so many redheads in one place and let us not even get started on the chaos. Chaos for them was very, umm, un-pureblood thing. And that was my cue so I walked towards the door with everyones eyes on me.

"Hello. It is okay to come in." Yeah, that was probably the worst kind of reassurance I could have given to anybody.

Lucius seemed relieved to see me there. And with that he managed to smile at the Malfoys.

"Hello." Okay, he was even worse than me.

"You know we have chairs." Said Arthur Weasley, who was now next to Mrs. Weasley. "You can sit on them and then stare at us as much as you want."

To that Narcissa smiled.

"I am sorry" she said with a smile.

"I have officially seen everything." And this time George made no effort to whisper.

And with that everyone was laughing and making room for 2 more people in the overly packed dining of the Burrow.

...

I had expected worse. But to my surprise, the dinner went by smoothly. The Malfoys were polite and the Weasleys were, ummmm, being Weasleys. But my biggest surprise was when Lucius complimented Mrs. Weasleys cooking. The reaction to that compliment was priceless. Almost everyone choked and Mrs. Weasley looked at him in horror.

"This is unbelievable." Ginny whispered.

"I know." I replied.

"I need to talk to you."

"Okay. Upstairs?"

We both excused ourselves and went upstairs to Ginnys room. I closed the door behind me to save ourselves from any of George's pranks.

"So, what is up?" I asked.

"Mione, what are you doing?"

"What do you mean?"

"What are you doing with the Malfoys?"

"Ginny, you have to be a little more specific."

"Mione, you came back from the hospital 3 weeks ago and since then all I have ever heard about you is that you have been spending every minute of your eyes with them."

"I am hoping there is a point."

"Why are you doing this? You were removed from the case Hermione. Why are you still sticking to them?"

"I don't know. I really don't. Look, I know that they have done really horrible things but I feel so bad for them because they lost their son." I took a deep breath. "I feel so bad for them because now it is pretty evident that we may never find him. I don't know Gin, I don't"

She looked at me and hugged me.

"Take care, okay?"

"Yeah." My face was all hot now.

"And if it makes you feel any better, they seem to be kind people, I guess" said the redhead while rolling her eyes.

That cracked us up.

"They are just going through a tough time. And tonight is probably their toughest time."

"Mione, believe me, everyone is trying to be kind towards them. We all are on our best behaviours but you know we can try a little harder. I will talk to-"

"No!"I could never thank the Weasleys for what they were doing for me. " Ginny, it is not that. As a matter of fact all of you are doing a good job. The thing is that, it's Malfoys birthday today. It is a difficult day for them. And that's why I brought them here, you all are a distraction. And you are doing a great job. Thank you so much!"

"Oh."

I nodded at her and gave her a big smile.

"We should go down, unless you want to tell me something." I said with a sly smile.

"HOW DO YOU KNOW?" asked the redhead with a red face.

"Honey, you should be thankful that this news hasn't been in The Daily Prophet already!"

"Oh, my God. I wanted to tell this to you before, but I also wanted to tell you this personally and not through a letter!"

"It's okay! I would have been angry had you told me about your proposal through a letter!" I said while taking her hand to take a look at the ring. "Where is the ring?"

"What ring?" she asked with a disgruntled tone.

Okay, I was confused now. Ron clearly told me that Harry and Ginny were getting married. Now it was my turn to show fifty shades of red.

"Ummm..."

"What are you talking about?"

"Ummmm..."

She kept looking at me, no wait, staring at me. How I wish if someone would just walk in the room!

"Mione"

"Yeah, I should get going."

"Mione?"

"Yes?"

"The ring is with mom" she said with a sly smile.

Oh, the relief. I could finally breathe. I will kill this girl.

"You are not a good girl" I could really use some trash language classes here.

"Now, shut up and congratulate me!"

"CONGRATULATIONS!"

"Thank You!"

"When's the date?'

"Oh, we haven't figured that out yet. Harry is busy with his work and I am still in school. But I am guessing that it will be probably sometime next year."

"I am so happy for you" I really was. Harry was getting married to a girl he truly deserved and a girl who deserved the boy who lived.

...

"Bartha ?"

"Dead."

"Riya Stile?"

"Found under the Trey Bridge. Unconscious and serious and has been admitted in St. Mungos"

"Bob Rett?"

"Dead"

"Connor Jillan?"

"Dead."

"Patrick Heat?"

"Found, he was hiding from the Death eaters."

"Good job Ms. Granger." Said Kingsley. It was the annual meeting of Department. They had reinstated me in the services after 7 months of forced holidays. They didn't give me Malfoys case, instead I had been given 5 different cases which I solved in my 5 months of service. And now was the moment of truth.

"Draco Malfoy?"

"Lost." I looked up to find him. And there he was sitting smugly.

"For official records your statement will be recorded. So start talking." Kingsley ordered.

And very calmly he started.

"The case was transferred to me after questions had been raised on Ms. Grangers mental health." I could already feel my blood rising. But I wanted to hear every part of it. "I proceeded with the case by sealing the Manor and went through every room of it in order to find clues. I must say that it took a good deal of time for us to go through the entire Manor and the library alone took 2 months."

"How much time are we talking about?" Kingsley questioned.

"6 months excluding the library."

"Continue"

"The next 4 months we spent talking to his friends and other family members. And just like the Manor we couldn't find anything solid. And for the past one month we had everyone looking for him in the wizarding world. So, today on 10th May 1999, I, Vince Strule, hereby declare Draco Malfoy lost" he said with absolutely no emotion on his face.

"Okay. So, that concludes our meeting. Draco Malfoy is now transferred to the non-priority list. New cases shall be delivered to all of you by tomorrow morning. Thank you." Kingsley delivered his final speech. This was wrong. Malfoy wasn't lost and Vince Strule had definitely not looked for Malfoy.

"Wait!" I shouted. I couldn't let anybody leave without outing Vince Strule. "Draco Malfoy is not lost and Mr. Strule has simply wasted time. He has not looked for Draco Malfoy at all."

Kinsley looked at me disapprovingly.

"And why do you say that Ms. Granger?" Vince asked

"It's because you never took Blaise Zabinis statement into consideration. And you didn't acknowledge my advice when I told you that there was nothing in Malfoy Manor."

"I am sorry for doing my duty officially. Unlike you Ms. Granger, I have everything on official record over here. And let us not forget that you were on this case for 2 days and in those 2 days you didn't file a single statement. And Kingsley would agree with me when I say that I cannot go ahead with mere advices and suggestions that will never be recorded."

"Give me this case" I turned to Kingsley. He was my last ray of hope. "You know I can do a better job than him. Give me this case, I swear I will find Draco Malfoy."

"Sure, a girl who couldn't find her own parents will find Draco Malfoy. You really do need another visit to St. Mungos", sniggered Vince.

And before I knew it, I had thrown two paper weights at his face and luckily they both him. I didn't even feel bad... a little maybe, only because I had missed his eye. One had hit him below his left eye and the other one had hit him above his left eye.

"Ms. Granger!" Kingsley shouted as he got up from his chair. "You are not getting this case. The only thing you are getting is suspension. You are suspended from your office for the next 6 months. Now get out."

"With pleasure." I said with a curtsy and left with my pride.

Was I happy with my suspension? I don't know, but all I knew was that in these 6 months I will find Draco Malfoy.

...

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	9. To Begin With

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To begin with

I was determined. Yes, I was most definitely determined to find Draco Malfoy. Was I happy? I think so. I mean, I was not completely thrilled to be suspended but I couldn't just give up hope especially when it is evident that Malfoy is alive. Oh, what a blithering idiot Malfoy is! How can he ever think of leaving his family? The guy is definitely crazy enough to run away even when he and his family had been given a clean slate. But then again it is Malfoy, not even God knows what goes through his mind. I mean the guy risked so much to save Harry when he could have simply ousted us at the Manor. He saved us all from his cruel aunt and till date we don't have any explanations for his actions. Actually, we have no explanations as to why the Malfoys helped us at all or why they were given a clean slate. They are so—

"HERMIONE!" came a voice which nearly made me want to rip my ears off me. And as courtesy calls, I had to get up and not only acknowledge the person but also had to hug her.

"Lavender" I said as I pulled myself out of her embrace. I couldn't believe my luck, out of all the places on earth, I met Lavender in a book shop.

"Oh, my God! I had not expected to see Hermione Granger over here!" said the overly excited girl in front of me. Her words made me wonder why she wouldn't expect me in a bookshop! I mean this is the most obvious place to find me... it's a bookshop!

"Really? I somehow don't know why you would say that?"

"Well, it is because you are either working or spending your day with the Malfoys—DUH!" she said like it is the most obvious thing.

"Ha ha" I said with the hope of changing the topic "Well, enough about me. Tell me, have you and Ron picked out a date yet?"

"Umm" I could tell that Lavender was not comfortable in answering that question. And I don't blame her for that. Both Harry and Ron were too busy with their Auror training which led to Harry postponing the wedding about 4 times in the past year and Ron... Well, Ron was just being Ron! He didn't want to rush into anything, yes they are his words! He thinks it's too early to get married and wants another couple of months to zero down to a date. Well, even a daft person could tell that Lavender was not happy with that decision but she still stayed with Ron after that... which is actually commendable because had it been me, I would have left at the first sign of exit.

"You know Lavender, we don't need to talk about that either." And with that she eased herself.

"I am a little worried, that's it."

"I think that it's completely fine. And it really isn't like Ron is not serious about you." I said to reassure her. "You just have to be a little patient and before you will know, all this would have passed"

"Thank You so much!" she said and pulled me into another hug. Woah, she hugs way too much!

I smiled and pulled myself out of her hug. Even though Lavender had not done anything to me, I was not too fond of her and I guess it was mainly because of Ron. No, I am not in love with Ron, but I just don't know where I am with Ron... We never really discuss it and I am pretty sure he doesn't want to discuss it either and that is okay, I guess.

"Hello! Are you even listening to me?" okay, so I had spaced out and Lavender was still here... talking about something.

"Yeah, I am so sorry. I just have a lot on my mind. What were you saying?"

"Oh, silly girl!" she said and tapped on my forehead and smiled " I think I am keeping you away from something. How about we meet up later and continue our discussions?"

Discussions? We were discussing something? Okay, I can't space out again.

"Yes, we will do that and keep our discussions on hold till then" I said and smiled at her.

"Good. Now I better let you get back at whatever it is that you were doing." And with that she pulled me into another one of her hugs "Bye bye"

"Bye bye Lavender" I said as I pulled myself out her hug... AGAIN.

I left the bookshop minutes after Lavender left it. There really wasn't much in the bookshop for me to read or buy and yes, that was strange. Instead of walking further inside the Diagon Alley, I walked towards the Leaky Cauldron. I just didn't feel like meeting anyone today.

* * *

"I didn't expect to see you here." I hadn't heard that voice in almost a year now. But I was glad to hear it again.

"Blaise Zabini." I didn't even have to turn around to know that it was him. I simply tapped my hand on the bar stool next to me and he swiftly sat down on it.

"My my, what is Granger doing in a place like this?"

I rolled my eyes at him. He was again trying to sound charming.

"My my, why is Zabini talking to a Mudblood?"

"Ha ha" he said as he gestured the bartender to get him his usual drink. "So, what do you want to know Granger?"

And this was the time I looked at him.

"You didn't help Vince Strule. Why?"

"He never approached me and I wasn't in the country for about 8 months."

"Fair enough. And why are you helping me? From what I can recall I hadn't approached you either."

"Because it's time for Draco Malfoy to come back." He said with a sly smile.

I didn't know what to say to that. I kept staring at him and hoped that he would continue but he didn't, instead he just drank his drink and paid the bartender.

"Stop staring Granger"

"Tell me more."

"Oh, I wish I could. But I have to meet someone here" and with that he got up from his stool " but it was really nice to meet you." He said and turned to leave. Okay, I can't let him leave!

I quickly got on my feet and ran behind him.

"Zabini!" I shouted as I entered Diagon Alley. "Where did he go?" I asked myself. He was nowhere to be found. He was fast and next time I have to be faster than him.

I re-entered Leaky Caludron and seated myself at the bar again.

What on earth did Blaise even mean? He is the worst friend anyone could ever have.

"Boo"

And this time I didn't waste time. I turned around and caught him by his collar.

"You cannot run away again Zabini!" I growled as I tightened my grip.

"Oh, I am not running away." He said before he started coughing. "Merlin, let go of me!"

"NO! You tell me now!" I said as I got off my chair and pinned him to the floor. "tell me now Zabini." He was pinned to the floor and I was sitting on top of him with tight grip on his collar. We had obviously attracted attention, everyone in the Leaky Cauldron was now staring at us.

"Fine, just let go of me. Granger you are hurting me" he pleaded.

I loosened my grip and took out my wand.

"Everyone out of here!" I shouted as I pointed a wand at the ceiling.

"And who are you?" someone asked in a disgruntled tone

"Don't you dare try anything. I will explode this place into pieces! Everyone out of here and no one gets hurt!" And that set things straight. They all left quietly, they didn't want to mess with me after all I was the girl who helped in getting rid of Voldemort. And with that I pointed my wand at Zabini.

"Start talking Zabini." I was dead serious.

"Relax Granger" That only invited my wand to poke his neck, a whimper of pain left his from his mouth.

"Talk. We don't have much time."

Zabini sensed the danger to his life and started talking.

"I don't know much. All I know is that Draco is working for the Ministry." He paused and continued "Well, I wouldn't call it working, but there is a reason why the Malfoys were given a clean slate. Draco is apparently hiding something important and that is why he ran away."

"But you said he was running away from himself. What is that supposed to mean?"

"Yes, I am not lying. He is running away from himself too. Well, before he left I clearly remember him complaining about the Dark Mark. I think he found a way to get rid of it or at least live with it but in peace."

"And how do you know about the Ministry?"

"Because I met him the day he left or disappeared."

"Bollocks. Mrs. Malfoy clearly said that Draco had no visitors and he never left the Manor." I was angry and that only made me poke my wand harder. "You are lying Zabini." My eyes had darkened and Zabini was surely scared of me.

"I am not lying!" He begged. "He met me. He dropped by at 1 in the morning. He was asking me to look after his parents. I don't remember much because I was sleepy but I remember him receiving an owl. He had received a letter from the Ministry."

"And how do you know that it was an owl from the Ministry?"

"I saw the seal. It was from the Ministry."

"And what kind of a friend doesn't ask why he has to look after his friends' parents?"

"I did ask him that. But all he said that he had some work to look after and he should be back in about 2 years."

"AND YOU WERE FINE WITH THAT?" I growled at him

"YES! Because we are Slytherins, Granger! We do favours without asking any questions. And Draco is my best friend and whether or not you like it, he was smart and in a lot of ways smarter than you!"

"Shut it. Continue."

"After Draco left, I did some searching myself. And then I found out that Draco was doing the Ministry a favour and that's why the Malfoys got a clean slate."

"Anything else that I should know of?"

"No, I swear. I don't know anything else."

"Good. If you recall anything, you come running to me." I was convinced that Zabini had told me everything. But I was also sure that he would try to attack me the moment I would get up so I did something which I was strangely proud of doing. I punched him. Yes, I knocked him out. And with that I disapparated to the Manor. I had to do this quick because I know that they will come looking, the Ministry will surely come after me.

* * *

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	10. Time to Run

Time to Run

"Oh"

"That's it?"

She cracked a smile at me, no wait, she was looking at me with amusement.

"Did you even hear me?" that made the Malfoys laugh. I swear to God, they don't really understand the gravity of the situation!

"I don't think you understand that we have done and seen worse than you, little one" Lucius said with a simper.

"That is completely different."

"Maybe"

"Look, the Ministry will be here in no time."

"Hmmmm"

"Quit teasing her Lucius." Narcissa ordered and turned towards me "Now dear, tell me exactly why would the Ministry come after you? It was just assault and holding a person hostage for what 2 minutes? I think the Ministry will pardon you, I mean they pardoned us for our deeds" she said with obviousness in her tone.

I can't answer that question. I cannot tell her that the person I assaulted was Blaise Zabini and I can definitely not tell her that he knows what happened to Draco Malfoy.

"Her silence speaks for her Cissa." Lucius said with calmness in his voice. "But you need to run, little one. Whatever it is that you can't tell us is clearly something important and I think that the Ministry will think the same too." He got up from his seat and took my wand "You think you can live without this for a few days?" he asked while inspecting my wand.

"Yes" I said as I rolled my eyes at him, "I am a muggle born. I can definitely live without that, but why?"

"Because this is the most easiest thing to track. And when the Ministry comes here, this will be the only clue that they will ever find." he said as he looked at me and smirked. I couldn't help but smirk at him too.

"Now that we have taken care of the "situation", let us all have lunch." Narcissa announced with sarcasm dripping from her voice.

"No, not today" Lucius said "Let us not underestimate the Ministry. You will have to run, little one and from what I can presume, you don't have much time." I nodded at him and got up from my seat. This was it. This was goodbye.

"Wait! If I don't have my wand, how exactly am I going to go anywhere?" This had just dawned on me and honestly, only now did I understand the gravity of the situation and well, I was freaking out about it.

"Ah! I thought the muggle born had already taken care of that" Lucius teased " Don't worry, you are just in time" and then he clapped twice.

*crack* and now I was in the presence of a house elf. He looked so much like Kreecher.

"Master has called upon Tungsten" he croaked.

"Yes, you are to transport Ms. Granger to a safe place, preferably where there are no wizards or witches."

Tungsten then looked at me with judgemental eyes. I wouldn't be surprised if he would refuse and call me mudblood but then again I needed any help I could get.

"Ok, anything else master?"

"Yes, you are not to tell anyone about this. Are we clear?" Lucius said sternly.

"Yes master. Tungsten is ready to leave whenever Miss Granger wants to."

I wanted to cry. I didn't want to leave. In some odd way, the Malfoys had partially filled the void that had been created after my parents disappeared. I can't really explain how but they had. The Weasleys were family and Harry was the closest thing I had for a brother but the Malfoys... I was so confused as to what position they held in my life. Irrespective of the position they held in my life, I didn't want to leave them.

"I had never thought that this day would come." I said with teary eyes.

*thud* "OUCH!" wow, I had never ever thought that this day would come. "Why did you slap me?" I cried in pain with tears streaming across my cheeks.

"You are talking like I will never see you again." Narcissa exclaimed.

"I.. uhh... but you slapped me!"

"Clean up yourself Hermione" she said and handed me a handkerchief "And come back soon."

"Yes, I will come back soon and one more thing could you please tell everything Harry and Ron everything? They will be worried sick if they don't hear from me."

"Okay, we will do that. Now, you should start running Ms. Granger." Lucius said as he nodded at me.

I stepped away from them and looked at them with glassy eyes as Tungsten held my hand. This was it. It was time to run.

* * *

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	11. Arrival

**Arrival**

"Madam?"

"Miss? Are you okay?"

"We should call for the ambulance!"

My head ached. It almost felt like someone was sitting on me and there were so many voices around me. Were these voices in my head?

"Okay, I think she is opening her eyes. Someone get some water!"

I somehow opened my eyes and shut them back again, there was too much light. I opened them once again and waited for my eyes to adjust to the light and after a few moments I could see everyone around me.

"Miss, are you okay?" asked one of the many heads around me.

"Yes" I replied while looking around, trying to find out where I was but to no avail, "Where am I?" I finally asked.

"You really did hit your head hard, didn't you?" one of them said as they all burst laughing while I sat confused and waiting for an answer.

"You're in Marson Town, lady. Now can you remember everything?"

Well obviously I remembered everything, I just wanted to know where Tungsten had dropped me off.

"Yes, thank you so much. I feel much better now, thank you so much." I said as I got up from the pavement where I had been found by a bunch of strangers. I thanked them again and again until they all left. Once every one of them had left, I sat on a nearby bench to take in everything that had happened in the past 24 hours.

The Ministry officials would be hot on my trail.

The Malfoys were in danger and there was nothing I could do.

Harry and Ron must be worried sick.

Blaise Zabini must be in a bad condition.

I was stupid enough to not carry a single penny of Muggle money.

"Have I interrupted Madams thoughts?" came a squeak, "Apologies, madam. Tungsten has only come to help Madam!"

"Tungsten!" Gosh, I was so happy to see him!

"Here" he said as he handed me a piece of paper. "I have to leave Madam, things are not very well back home and my absence would only lead them to you." And before I could respond, he vanished. And now I was staring at the place where only moments ago Tungsten was standing. The wind blew and kissed my face and reminded me of the paper Tungsten had given to me.

In poor handwriting, Tungsten had managed to scribble- 12, Peninsula, Bartor Street, opposite Gold Meds. He seemed to have written an address. I got up from my bench and looked around to find some direction board or anyone who could help me. I walked towards the intersection and was delighted to find people at the bus stop.

"Excuse me, I seem to have lost my way, could you tell me which way leads me to Bartor Street?" I asked one of the men standing at the bus stop.

"How hard did you hit your head?" he asked as he peeked in to the paper I was holding.

I chose to not answer that question.

"Sorry, but you are on Bartor Street and right there is Peninsula." He said and pointed to a blue building.

"Thank you so much."

I made my way to the Peninsula and thankfully the door was open. If there was something Tungsten had forgotten to give to me was the key of this place that he was leading me to. I went up to the third floor to find the door number 12. But unlike the main gate of the building, this was not unlocked.

"Great!" I exclaimed, wondering what to do now. I tried knocking but my knocks went unanswered. And then finally I realised that I didn't need a wand to do magic, I could do wandless magic.

"Aloha—" I stopped midway. The ministry can still track me. "Great, how do I open this door now?"

I turned the knob and launched at the door and to my surprise, I was now on the other side of the door. I closed the door behind me, just to be sure. The living room was cozy and had two couches on either side, there was an open kitchen on my left and on my right was the door to a bedroom. I walked into the bedroom and opened the closets and found clothes and money. Was all of this stuff mine? I walked towards the window and the view was of the street where I was once standing and asking for directions. The people at the bus stop were nowhere to be seen.

I was tired, it was exhausting to be on the run. I had done it once and now only 2 years later, I was again on the run. I sat down on the bed and looked at the bedside table to find a key lying on top of it.

"Oh, Tungsten" I couldn't help but smile at his goofiness.

* * *

 **I know I didn't update for sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo long but I had this major writers block!**

 **I know this chapter is kind of awkward but I just wanted to get over this chapter because this chapter is more like a transition chapter. I will update soon!**

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	12. Distant Memory

**Potter4life Thank you so much for your review! You really made my day.. and about Hermione and Ron, I'll see what I can do! :P**

 **And since I forgot to mention it in the last chapter, Marson Town is a fictional town because I didn't want to get into Geography and all, and this town is located in England.**

* * *

 **Distant Memory**

"Have you ever wondered Granger that I don't want to be found? Maybe I am happy to be lost? Maybe Draco Malfoy wants to be buried underneath the piles of files in the Department of Lost? Or maybe that Draco Malfoy wants to be forgotten or be a distant memory?"

"I have found you."

"Not for long, Granger. You will lose me once again and this time it will be forever!"

"People have been going crazy over you. You cannot do this to them."

"And you think this is the first time I have made anyone crazy over me?" he smirked

"Your parents need you. You owe them an explanation, Malfoy!" I ran behind him, "STOP! MALFOY, STOP!"

"It is time for you to stop, Granger."

I had finally caught up to him. I clutched on his arm with all my strength, I could not let him get away, he is my ticket back home. It was strange to see that he wasn't fighting back, instead he kept staring at me with his arrogant smirk.

"What?" I couldn't even cover the frustration in my voice.

"You are a fool, Granger." He laughed, "A fool to think that you are even close to taking me back into the world that I willingly left. I shut those doors myself and I am not opening them. So, why don't you just sod off?" And with that he found his way out of my grip.

"NO! You are coming back with me. You and I are going back home, Malfoy. You cannot just leave!" I ran behind him and blocked his way, "Please. Just talk to your parents and let them know that you are alive and happy and then you can leave." I looked deep into his eyes, trying to find even the slightest trace of emotion that would reason with him to come back to the Wizarding World. But he kept staring at me for what felt like years. "Malfoy, please. I cannot go back without you, you are my ticket back home. Please, just come back home. You parents are worried sick and I can vouch for that! I have seen them and they are miserable without you, just come back home." This might have struck a chord with him because now I could sense a change in him.

"They are miserable without me?" he asked.

"Yes, they are miserable without you. I see them everyday and they are the most depressed souls that I see all day."

"Good." He nodded at me and then smiled, "but if you want to watch an even more depressing soul, Granger, try a mirror."

I was horrified. This man in front of me was happy to know that his parents were miserable because of him and now has the courage to ridicule me of my loss. I have never hated anyone with this intensity and I don't think I can hate anyone more than I hate him currently.

"Are you crying now?" he gave me a cold smile, "Poor mudblood has no idea where her parents are and still wants to go back to the world that was single handedly responsible for them to be lost. Well, I can at least compliment you behalf of your parents, you have made them proud because you took up the Case of Draco Malfoy out of all the cases of people who were lost. I mean anyone would have chosen their parents' case rather than their school bully's case, but you, Granger, are a saint for have taken up my case." I had lost all my ability to stand up now, the only thing that was keeping me up were his arms. I hadn't felt this weak and numb for a long time, but today I was numb and vulnerable in front of my arch nemesis, Draco Malfoy. Tears were overflowing my foggy eyes and my skin was burning hot now and Malfoys presence only made it worse. "Granger, I was wrong. I shouldn't have called potter a saint, rather I should have called a saint."

"Don't do this, please. Just go home, Malfoy." I was begging him to stop. His aunt had physically scarred me but he was scarring me mentally. "Please." By now I could only whisper him to stop. I was scared of him now and I just wanted him to leave.

He brought my face closer to his and spoke to me with coldness in his voice, "My home is where I am now, the home that you are talking about, is a distant memory and never am I going back to relive those memories. Do you understand?" he stared deep into me and my timidness was the positive confirmation that he was seeking. With that he let go of me and watched me slump to the ground and lying in the pool of my tears.

When I woke up, I was comfortably lying on a bed. I jumped out of the bed and wiped the sweat and tears from my face. It was a dream, a dream which had been so real. I was in my apartment and there was no Draco Malfoy over here. He was never here and I was here all along and everything that had happened, happened in my dream or what I should now call a nightmare.

I drank some water and looked out of the window, it was still dark outside but there were a few people on the street. It wasn't real, none of it was real, Malfoy wasn't here and... my parents, too, were never here. My parents. Where were they? I pondered over that question while I left the tears to touch my cheeks as many times as they wanted to.

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	13. Resources

**Resources**

I couldn't bring myself to stop thinking of what Malfoy said to me in the dream. Even though he wasn't real, he was right and was exactly the way I remembered him from our days in Hogwarts. His words were laced with threat but somehow he was right. I had been a terrible daughter for not pursuing their case and choosing Malfoy over them. Malfoy means nothing to me and my parents mean the world to me and yet I was looking for Malfoy, the git who never let go of the chances to drive my senses crazy.

"God, I hate him so much!" I said as I thrashed my plate in the sink. Malfoy had managed to make me feel lousy about myself. And the worst part was that I couldn't think of the reason that set me off into finding the stupid git. My parents obviously meant more to me and I would give up anything to get them back. I threw the broken pieces of the plate in the trash and walked towards the bedroom to grab my purse, I desperately needed some fresh air.

I grabbed the keys and opened the purse to check how much cash I had and boy, was I disappointed. Tungsten had done a shabby job in understanding the monetary system in the muggle world. Now, not only did I need some fresh air but I also needed a job to keep me going in this world.

I put the keys in the purse and wore my jacket and was now ready to find a job in the great Marson Town.

...

Due to my poor resources, I walked around the town to get a better idea about the town. This town was not much of a town, rather it was a village. The people seemed to be kind and polite and thankfully no one was referencing to my head anymore. Till now, I had gotten all the fresh air that I had wanted but sadly, I still hadn't got a job for myself. Due to the absence of my muggle education qualifications, I couldn't apply to most of the offices. So, I was left with working at the places which didn't require any educational qualifications.

I was now standing at the heart of the town, Goldfield Square, and according to a very kind lady that I had met earlier, this place had one of the best cafes, restaurants, hotels and bookstores in the town. The annual festival was also held here, in the Ricardo Grounds. According to her, this place is bustling with crowd during the evenings and would prove to be quite a place for me to find a job. So, here I was, Goldfield Square, looking for a job.

I walked into a cafe called 'Sugar and sweet' and was turned down, this happened around 5 times. This was frustrating me now, back in the Wizarding World, I would be given a job without even thinking twice and here I was being turned down again and again. But I couldn't give up, because giving up would also mean that I would have to give up on many peoples' hopes and I don't think I would be able to live with anymore guilt. I tried my luck in a bookstore and as it turned out that they had hired someone just moments ago.

"Thank you so much though." I said and smiled as I made my way out of her store.

"I'm so sorry dear. But you know I might be able to help you a little." she said

That definitely got my attention. I turned around and smiled at her for her generosity.

"My daughter works at the Ricardo Inns and she needs someone to replace her since she has to go for a maternity leave. The hotel authorities have been looking for someone to replace her but they couldn't find anyone, do you think you'd be able to the job?" she asked with hope.

"What exactly would I be doing?"

"She handles the front desk at the hotel, if you think you can do it then you should try your luck over there."

I can do that. How difficult would that be? "Yes, I can do that! Thank you so much Ma'am." I smiled at her and left for Ricardo Inns.

I was suddenly feeling optimistic and happy because finally something had fallen in its place and world seemed so much better from this side of the world. "I will get this job" I murmured to myself.

...

"So how was your audition?", a girl sitting next to me asked me.

"It was fine, I guess." And I was being completely honest with her. They kept shouting at me and wanted me to be polite the entire time. It was difficult and pressurising which made me second guess my ability at getting this job.

I was now sitting with about 20 people in the hall, everyone was desperately waiting to hear the results. There were 20 of us who were competing for one job and I prayed to be the one. I don't think I will be able to take in rejection well.

After about 30 minutes of waiting, they came out with the results. My heart was pounding in my chest and the world appeared to be spinning around me and somehow the announcers were speaking so heavily and slowly. And before I knew it, they had come to me and were shaking my hands and congratulating me for getting the job. I GOT THE JOB! My senses had finally come back to me and I could now process the fact that I had gotten the job.

"Thank you so much!" I exclaimed and followed them. I was so happy, and thankfully my day was getting better every minute. They took me to the front desk of the hotel, and only now did I notice how beautiful this hotel was, with its intricate wood work and the gorgeous sculptures. I looked around like a child lusting for a chocolate, this place was gorgeous and clean and shiny. And the lights made this place look even more grand and majestic.

"Ms. Granger? It would be kind of you to pay attention."

"Oh, I am so sorry." I looked at the pregnant lady in front of me. She must be the daughter of the bookstore lady and also the person whom I am replacing. I held out my hand and shook her hand.

"Hi, I'm Hermione Granger"

"Hello, I'm Annie Bestworth. You are going to be replacing me since I am going on a maternity leave." She said as she smiled and continued, "There are a few things that you need to know before you start working here. The most important one is that under no circumstances can you shout at any customer of the hotel, that is completely unacceptable and would result in the termination of your contract. Second, you're supposed to be dressed in formals at all times. Third, the phone is going to ring a lot and you will have to pick it up and transfer the calls and messages immediately. You are obviously not going to do this alone, Patrick would be working alongside but he will be busy dealing with our clients too so don't think that you can delegate your work to him. Your working hours would be 7:00 am to 5:00 pm during which you will be allowed two breaks." She stopped and took a deep breath and continued, "You would require identifications from your guests before booking them a room. There is laminated card in the desk over there, that card contains important contacts, such as the restaurant, the parking lot, the drivers, the laundry room, the housekeeping etc. It also contains the charges of room and various items which have to be charged when you bill the guest. I hope you remember all of this Ms. Granger, because we are a high quality hotel and there is zero tolerance for mistakes over here."

"Yes, I understand and I would do my best Mrs. Bestworth." I nodded at her.

"Good, then you will be starting tomorrow and don't be late. Not just tomorrow, but ever." Mrs. Bestworth said as she shook my hand, "Thank you and have a good day." she smiled.

"You too Mrs. Bestworth, thank you so much again." I politely nodded at her and left.

...

"They are very plain colours, dear, are you sure you want them?" asked the lady at the counter.

"Yes, I want them. How much?" I asked as I dug into my purse to bring out the 400 quid that Tungsten had left me with. With limited resources, my only option was to purchase plain coloured dresses instead of buying shirts, skirts and trousers. I was really low on money and this was my best deal.

"Well, each dress is for 40 quid and you have bought 8 of them so that's 320 quid and the heels are for 30 each, so in total you have to pay 380." she said as she packed all of my clothes and shoes.

I handed over the money and took back the change and with my packet, I was off to my apartment. Apartment. Not once did I give a thought towards the ownership of that apartment. I stopped midway and let the sudden horror engulf me that maybe that apartment had been rented by me which would require me to pay rent every month.

"Damn you, Tungsten" I muttered under my breath as I walked towards my apartment.

...

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	14. May Fair

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...

 **May Fair**

If staring at the ceiling would amount to a goodnights sleep, then I would gladly say that I had a goodnights sleep. The thoughts of finding anyone had left my mind and was now occupied by the excitement of going to a new job! All I could imagine was my first day at the front desk! That made me grin like a mad woman.

I was finally ready. I'd worn a perfect fit black dress and white stilettos, combed my hair about 10 times and now I was good to go.

The walk to the hotel was about 30 minutes from my place, but due to my stilettos it took me a good 45 minutes to reach the hotel, but I was still 15 minutes before time. And as soon as I opened the door to the hotel, I was once again captured by the beauty of this place.

"Ah, you're before time! Hi, my name is Ashlynn Fen." Spoke a lady from the front desk. She was visibly elder to me and seemed exhausted. I walked towards her with a warm smile and held out my hand.

"Hello, I'm Hermione Granger." I said as I shook her hand and turned to the man next to her and shook his hand too.

"I'm Greg Anderson. You and Patrick are going to be taking over the front desk now." He said in a brim tone.

"How tiring is this job?" I couldn't help but ask them this question.

They both laughed, obviously this wasn't the first time they had been asked this question, "Don't let the job description deceive you." Greg said

"Yes, you won't believe the kind of demands our clients make. Sometimes they are just downright stupid." Ashlynn whispered and chuckled.

"Really?" I was surprised.

"Yes, anyway, our shift ends now, so we'll see you at 5."

"Oh! Alright. Bye, have a good day!"

"You too Ms. Granger" Greg replied and then pointed at another man at the door, "Ah, there is Patrick, you are going to be handling the front desk with him."

I looked at the door to see the gorgeous man standing. Wait, did I just say gorgeous? No, I can't do this. I have to work with this guy for a long time and I can't harbour any kind of feelings for him.

"Dear, he's already taken. Whom do you think knocked up the previous front desk attendant?" Ashlynn whispered to me.

I must have been staring at him for too long. Gosh, I am such a fool!

"Yeah, I was not really looking at him." I tried to cover up the obvious.

"Sure." She said as she picked up her bag and winked at me before leaving.

By the time she left, Patrick had reached the front desk and was now looking at me. I had to break the awkward silence at the table.

"Hi, I am Hermione." I said as I shook his hand.

"Patrick Bestworth, nice to meet you." He said without breaking eye contact with me. And I couldn't help but maintain the eye contact, his green eyes were enchanting.

Finally, I broke eye contact and went back to where I was standing. I inspected all the numbers on the card and went through registers and saw Patrick doing nothing but waiting for someone to come on the front desk. And I, too, followed suit.

...

"Yes Ma'am, we have booked you a car for the entire day"

"Good. And can you send the house keeping to my room, please?"

"Sure, which room did you say you were calling from?"

"2001"

"Okay, housekeeping will be there in some time. Thank you and have a nice day." And with that I put down the receiver.

"Rough day?" Patrick teased.

"Don't ask." I rolled my eyes at him. I again picked up the receiver and called up housekeeping and asked them to attend room 2001.

"I can't believe that I have been in this never ending cycle of calls for just two hours!"

"Honey, that's only the preview. The show starts at 9, so get ready."

"You mean it is only going to get worse?"

"Yes" he said as he picked up the receiver to attend another call.

...

Patrick was not lying when he said that the show is going to start at 9, because right now we both were handling two long queues of customers who didn't want to wait a single moment.

"Are you saying that there are no garden view rooms available?" a lady shouted at me.

"We don't have garden view rooms available in the class of rooms you wish to have. However, we do have garden view rooms available if you choose a Platinum Room." I spoke with all the politeness I had left in me.

"That is stupid. I want a room which is garden view and I want it to be deluxe only. So listen up, get me that room, understood?" she was being extremely rude.

"We have a road view deluxe room available. We can give you that one." I smiled at her and hoped that she would either take it or leave.

"No. I want a garden view deluxe room. Get me one or give me the platinum room at the rates of the deluxe room." This is what they all want. They all want the good rooms but don't really want to pay for them.

"I am so sorry madam that we have lost the opportunity to serve you." I said as I smiled at her and signaled the person behind her to come in front.

"Hello, sir, how can I help you?" I said as I smiled warmly at him.

...

"You can have your lunch now." Patrick said to me.

The crowd had finally died down and now it was just the two of us at the lobby.

"What about you?"

"They won't let us have lunch together. One of us has to be present to attend the guests. So, you can have your lunch now and I will have it later."

"Oh, cool. Thank you." I said and exited the front desk and walked towards the staff cafeteria. The hotel serves free lunches to its staff so I had saved myself from spending on lunch.

I gobbled my lunch down my throat. I just found it rude to leave Patrick alone at the desk, and let him handle my calls and guests. I hurried back as soon as I was finished.

"That was quick." He was amused.

"Yeah, I didn't like the fact that you would have to do all the work."

"That's quite generous of you."

"Hey, before you leave, I have a question, is this place always this crowded?" I was curious to know why so many people were in Marson Town all of a sudden.

"It is not this crowded. But during this season, we are always booked."

"This season?"

"Annual festival, are you new over here?" he looked at me with his head tilted to one side.

"Yes, I moved here a week back."

"Oh, well." He said as he leaned on the desk, "Every year in May, the town hosts the May Fair which is like mixture of numerous parties, festivals, games, talent shows and everything like that. Hence, we have to attend to so many guests."

"Ohh, thanks!" I said as I sat down, "You know you can go and have lunch now, I have it under control over here."

"Good." He grinned at me and left.

"Sounds like fun" I muttered to myself.

...

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	15. Sickness

**Sickness**

I reached the hotel 10 minutes before my shift would start. That gave me enough time to be presentable. I wore my black stilettos and straightened my blue dress, my hair looked fine, which was surprising.

I walked back to the front desk and found Ashlynn and Greg packing their things.

"Hey, Patrick called in sick this morning. So, I guess you'll have to handle the desk alone today." Ashlynn said with sympathy.

"Alone?" I didn't hide my astonishment. There was a reason why this was a two person job and doing it alone on the second day of the job doesn't even sound remotely fun.

"We'll come by 3 to take over but till then you are all alone." Greg said as he patted me on the back and left.

"Good luck. Well, it shouldn't be much of a problem because we are almost booked. But still, try and have a good day Hermione." Ashlynn said with a little hope.

I smiled at her. What else could I do?

...

"Breakfast is served at 7:30."

"No, ma'am we don't serve breakfast in bed." And with that I hung up on her.

I agree that this day was better than yesterday but the phone just wouldn't stop ringing. And it rang again. I so wished Patrick was here, things would be so much easier to handle then.

"Hello, Ricardo Inns, I'm Hermione Granger, how can I help you?"

"I'd like to book a room for two."

"Sure, Sir, who am I speaking to?"

"Mr. Judd Serta, I want to book a room for two for one week."

"Yes, sir and when would you be visiting us?"

"5th May"

"Alright" I opened the register to check if we had any bookings for that day. While I did that, someone arrived at the desk.

"On the 5th of May, we only have the Road View rooms available. Would you like me to book them for you?"

"Yes, thank you so much."

"No problem sir. Anyway, I would like to make it clear to you that the hotel would only book your room till noon of the day of your booking, i.e., if you don't arrive at the hotel till noon on 5th May, your bookings will be cancelled." I had memorised that condition and I was so glad that I had done that. I almost had to repeat it to every guest that called.

"Yes, go ahead and do it."

"Great, we'll see you on the 5th then! Thank you so much!" and with that I hung up and started making an entry for the 5th of May.

I had forgotten about the person at the counter. Clearly, he was not happy about this. And this is why this is a two person job.

"Hey!" the person at the counter shouted.

"I am so sorry, sir" I said as I finally looked up and received the surprise of my life.

"I want my room." demanded the guy with the distinguishable blonde hair, his eyes piercing into mine and his ever so recognisable smirk directed at me.

"Uhh—" I couldn't find my voice at all.

"The keys, Ms. Granger. The keys to my room." He said with coldness. He was clearly not happy to be kept waiting.

Granger. He's obviously talking to me but I couldn't find my voice.

"Do you want to get fired?" he now thumped his hand on the desk. "Call Malcolm." He ordered me.

"I would need identification to book you a room." I squeaked at him. His sheer presence intimidated me.

"You need identification?" he laughed.

"Yes, sir, that is our policy to book a room." I couldn't look at him, so I just stared at the register open in front of me.

"Call Malcolm. Call him now and tell him that Draco Malfoy wants to see him." He was serious now and that only meant that there was trouble for me.

I did as I was instructed and called up Malcolm. Malcolm was our hotel manager and we all knew that if Malcolm had to be called anywhere, someone was surely getting fired. And on the second day of my job, I don't think getting fired seemed like a good option.

"Mr. Malfoy, I am so sorry for whatever inconvenience that has been caused to you." Malcolm was now standing next to me. It hadn't even taken him seconds to arrive the moment I told him that Draco Malfoy was calling him.

"Your staff is incompetent. Where is the replacement that you recently hired?" Malfoy spoke with venom in his voice. This was so typical of him!

"She is the replacement, I'm so sorry Mr. Malfoy. We'll train her a little more. Ms. Granfer, apologise to Mr. Malfoy." he said as he tried to soothe Malfoy.

I stared at him. Why should I apologise to him?

"No." This was beneath me. If there is anyone who should apologise, it's him and not me. I mean I was here because of him.

"You do as I say and apologise to him." Malcolm spoke with his teeth now.

"I am so sorry Mr. Malfoy that you turned out to be such a git whom everyone hates. I am also sorry for your parents who had to put up with you. I mean who would even in their rightful senses put up with a self centred, egotistical and loathsome idiot? So, I am really really really sorry for your plight. So, please enjoy your stay at this hotel." I ended with my best smile. This ought to shake some sense into him.

He kept gawking at me, he was clearly not impressed. Malcolm, on the other hand, was fuming in anger.

"Oh, and I am so sorry if I have left out any of your beautiful character traits." I said as I rolled my eyes at him.

"Ms. Granger—" Malcolm spoke as he tried to conceal his anger.

"I'm fired? I know but you should also know that now you owe me a severance pay. Cash is preferable, thanks." I don't know from where I had developed so much of guts. But this felt nice, it felt nice because now I could go back home and live a normal life. I can finally go home to Harry, Ron and the big family of Weasleys!

"I will be back with your severance pay, Ms. Granger. Mr. Malfoy why don't you seat yourself and one of the housekeeping staffs would lead you to your suite?" Malcolm excused himself.

"Quit acting Malfoy." I was so angry at him.

"Excuse me?" he said as he combed his hair with his hand.

Wait, there was something different about him. There was something so different about him! The Dark Mark, there was no Dark Mark on his hand. Blaise was right, Malfoy had found a way to get rid of the Dark Mark. But there was no way someone could get rid of it. It was impossible, yet Malfoy seemed to have found a way to get rid of it.

"You don't care about your job?" he asked.

"No." I didn't care about anything right now. The only thing that I cared about right now was to find out how Malfoy had gotten rid of his dark mark.

"What are you staring at my hand?"

"My wish." I looked up to find him staring.

"Interesting." He kept staring at me.

"What do you do, Malfoy?" I didn't even want to pretend with this guy.

"Excuse me?"

"Why is Malcolm so afraid of you? Have you bewitched him?" I stared at him with my judgemental eyes.

"Not just Malcolm, every staff in this hotel is afraid of me and you should be afraid too."

"Well, I am not a staff here anymore." It was my turn to smirk at him.

"I own this hotel. And I am glad that you don't work here now." And just like that, his smirk wiped off my smirk.

Malcolm came back with my severance and it was enough to keep me going for another 3 months without work. Three months should be enough for me to find out everything about the guy who looks, acts and talk like Draco Malfoy but isn't Draco Malfoy.

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	16. Dear Diary

Dear Diary

 _Dear Diary,_

 _Just when I had thought that finding Draco Malfoy would put an end to all of my misery, fate played its turn and changed everything I thought I knew. It was him yet it wasn't him. The arrogance, the ego, the smirk , they were all his and yet it wasn't him. There was something different about him and I still couldn't tell what it was._

 _Yes, his physical appearance had changed but his personality was still the same. Actually, his physical appearance wasn't the same, his dark mark had vanished. And it was impossible for anyone to get rid of their dark marks, but clearly I was wrong because Draco Malfoy had found a way to get rid of it._

I sighed and looked at the piece of paper in front of me and crumpled it.

"I can do this, just not today." I said to myself as I proceeded to go to sleep.

...

"I should go out for a run or a walk." I said to myself while I kept staring at my alarm clock.

"At least I should get out of this bed."

Today, for the first time in my life I didn't have an incentive to get out of my bed. I usually had exams, Voldemort or some missing person, as an incentive to jump out of my bed, but today I don't have anyone. I mean, I have found Draco Malfoy so I don't really need to go anywhere. But I don't want to stay in bed all day, I want to go out and do something.

"I can beg for my old job back." I tried to reason with myself. It doesn't seem like a bad idea, but I am not particularly enthusiastic about it. I don't want to go in there and humiliate myself in front of Malfoy. I don't want to give him the opportunity to berate me. I just don't want to be belittled by Malfoy, and no, I am not afraid of him, it's just that I don't want to be in his company at all.

I should probably use magi-

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.

So, my alarm finally rang. I dismissed it and left the bed. I can't stay in bed all day and now I don't feel like staying indoors all day either. I should do something today, I don't care if it is productive, I just don't want to stay idle all day.

"I should probably attend the May Fair.", that will keep me busy for at least a couple of hours.

...

I was now standing in Goldfield Square. Two days ago I was standing at this spot and wondering where I would get a job, and now I am standing here wondering how quickly my life had changed. Everything I thought I had under control, clearly wasn't under my control. I was no more in charge, and I don't know exactly who was in charge. I am currently supposed to be walking towards the Fair, but I don't want to. I don't want to be here, I want to be home, with my friends who are my family. I don't want to be a part of whatever this is. I want to be free, free of all of my responsibilities and most importantly I want to be free of all of my guilt. Yes, I was still harbouring guilt inside me and anyone else in my place would do too. I was a pathetic daughter, I erased any memory of me from my parents' memory and now am unable to find them but somehow, without even trying, I found Draco Malfoy. I found him when I wasn't even looking for him, actually I found him when no one was looking for him, but no one could find my parents. This is unfair. If Draco Malfoy can miraculously show up where I was working while I was evading people who were hot on my trail, why can't they just show up? Why can't they just happen to visit me?

Draco Malfoy has done nothing good in his life, and the odds of him ever doing anything good in his life are too low, yet, I found him perfectly fine. And that is an understatement, he's doing more than fine. He is living on cloud nine. He is living as if nothing ever happened, as if he has no responsibilities, as if he has no baggage. As if he has no memory, whatsoever.

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	17. Sugar and Sweet

**Sugar and Sweet**

"I'll take a cup of coffee. Thank you."

"Alright, is that all?"

"Yes, that's all. Thank you." I said and smiled at the waitress. Once she left, I went back to staring outside the window to kill some time. I had reached the Fair a little too early, actually, I reached the fair almost 3 hours before it is supposed to start. So, I am back to the place that led me to my first job, Sugar and Sweet. I am kind of grateful that the lady who helped me in getting it wasn't here, it would have been awkward for me. I mean, I got fired on my second day, anyone would be ashamed of that. But things worked out for the best because I found him. I finally did. I found my ticket back home and all I need to do now is use some magic to lead the Ministry here. With the Ministry here, I can go back home and Malfoy can also go back home, and everything would go back to normal... But, I don't want to call the Ministry. Not yet, I want to know what Draco Malfoy did to get rid of his Dark Mark. That mark was supposed to stay engraved in his skin forever, it was supposed to constantly remind him of his choices and actions, it was supposed to stay with him just like the mudblood scar his aunt gave me.

I looked down at the scar. It didn't hurt anymore but the phantom pain was always there. Even thinking about those moments shakes me. But I never let the scar or those painful moments get the best of me, I don't let them hold me down. But that pain persists, it fights me and sometimes I give in and let it take over me, but not for long. The war scarred us all, both physically and emotionally, but we won it and survived it. And most importantly, neither of us ran away. But, Malfoy did and somehow he survived. And his survival comes as a surprise to me mainly because he survived in a world which was dominated by Muggles. Malfoy survived without using his powers and by the looks of it, he is doing perfectly fine.

"Here's your coffee. Would like anything else?" the waitress was back with my order.

"Oh, I haven't made up my mind yet. I will let you know if I need anything else." I smiled.

"Great." She smiled and left me to my thoughts.

I took a sip and looked around the cafe. It was crowded in here but there was barely any noise. This place was bustling at such early hours! It seemed like everyone was waiting for the Fair to begin and had arrived early like me.

"I'm sorry to interrupt you, but there are people waiting outside, would you mind sharing your table with another guest of ours?" the waitress was back at my table.

"Oh." I said and looked around to see if there were any empty tables or empty seats only to realise that I was the only one sitting alone. "Umm, okay." I said with embarrassment flooding in me.

"Thank you so much!" she cheerfully said and left the table.

I was glad that she had left the table but I was also embarrassed because she was going to get someone else with her when she comes back. I mean, I am not ashamed to be single but when people singularly point that out to me, I always lose my tongue. I know she didn't mean to point that out to me or tease me, she was just doing her job. Okay, I am getting all worked up. I have to calm down and I should not get so tensed about sharing a table with anyone!

So, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I am fine and I am not ashamed. I am strong woman and I am fine.

"This is outrageous." Came a familiar voice.

My eyes flew open. What is it with this guy? It is when you least expect him, he arrives. And by he, I mean he and his big fat ego.

"Malfoy." I returned his stare with my cold words.

"Ms. Granger, I can't really say that it's a treat to see you, but I am surprised to see you here." He said as he sat across me.

I leaned on the window next to me. I couldn't process what had just happened here. Not only had Malfoy called Ms. Granger, he had also spoken a sentence without spitting venom at me.

"It is rude to stare." He snapped at me.

There. That's him. That is the Malfoy I know, the one who's words are laced with venom.

"I'll take an ice tea and a chocolate muffin along with that. Thank you." He smiled and placed his order. The waitress, who was clearly blushing, smiled and winked at him and left.

He smiled. In all the years this guy has tormented me, I have never seen him smile. And here he is, casually smiling at random strangers, who by the way, are muggles.

"It is rude to stare Ms. Granger. And I would like it if you would stop doing that." he said with a hint of request if I am not wrong.

"What are you?" I blurted out.

"Excuse me?" he raised his eyebrow at me.

"How can you be so polite and sweet? I mean that doesn't even make sense. You are not you because you're being polite."

He stared at me with disbelief.

"Okay, Ms. Granger. One, whatever you just said doesn't make sense. Two, just because I fired you doesn't really prove the point that I am not polite or calm." He said as his confused eyes bore holes in me.

"It is rude to stare." I snapped at him.

"Exactly my point." He smirked.

I knew our conversation was over. And I also knew that he wouldn't even try to pick up a conversation with me. But I wanted to keep talking to him, I wanted some answers, I wanted to solve this mystery. Huh, I really can't believe, I am sharing a table with Draco Malfoy and am also desperate to talk to him. If Harry and Ron ever get to know this, I bet they'll either die of laughter or sheer horror, but their death would be inevitable.

I stirred my coffee and looked up to find him looking outside. He seemed to be at peace with himself, as if he had no worries or responsibilities. I looked down at my cup of coffee and kept stirring it.

"Have we ever met before, Ms. Granger." He broke the silence.

"Why do you ask?" I asked calmly.

"I couldn't help but replay our conversation from yesterday. You know, you sounded all too... how do you say it? You sounded like you met me before or something." He was confused.

And now I was confused. I was confused because I didn't know how to answer that question. I know I shouldn't be confused, after all this was Draco Malfoy sitting in front of me, yet he wasn't like him. This version of him was polite, calm, kind of composed and currently confused. He seems to be missing something and that's more than his Dark Mark.

"I don't know." I whispered

His confused gaze tried to inspect me but failed miserably at it. But I didn't want to fail at inspecting him. I wanted the answer to so many questions and I wasn't letting him get away this time.

"I am sorry for whatever I said yesterday. In retrospect, I shouldn't have judged you or shouted at you. I was rude and impolite, for which I am terribly sorry. I was just having a hard time at work and your unexpected arrival wasn't making it any better for me. So, I am really sorry for my actions." I kept my gaze down and hoped for the best. I wanted to know him because I wanted to go back home, and an apology will at least guide me home!

He cleared his throat. I think I made him uncomfortable or maybe he's just enjoying it. I looked up to find him smiling at me. Clearly, he was enjoying it. I swear I will hex him if he doesn't wipe that smile off his face.

"I must say, I am surprised." He said as he tried to conceal his laughter. "But I accept your apology. And I also hope you're not apologising to get your job back because we gave it to someone else. Someone who wouldn't shout at me." he smirked at me.

I rolled my eyes at him.

"You weren't particularly hoping to get your job back, weren't you?" he asked with what I think was humour.

"I wouldn't want to go back to that job. It was a pain, literally." I smirked at him.

"Ouch." He laughed and then signalled the waitress to get the bill. "Well, time for me to leave, Ms. Granger. I guess I will see you around."

"I hope." I smiled and watched him leave. "He has no memory. No memory at all." I concluded and then headed towards the Fair. Somehow, I had killed almost 3 hours here in this cafe with Draco Malfoy.

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	18. Development

**Development**

The temperature had soared up by the time I reached the Fair. I was sweating and was severely dehydrated. I looked around hoping to find some water but the sight of the Fair quenched my thirst. The Fair was grand and majestic, I agree it was no Waizarding Fair, but it was still so beautiful. There wasn't anything too special about the Fair, yet it was extraordinary. The numerous stalls, the rides, the open stages, the magic shows, they were all too familiar. They were... I have no words to describe them!

I removed my jacket and tied it around my waist. It was way too hot for me to wear my jeans, let alone wear my jacket.

"Wow, where to begin in a place as big as this?" I asked myself aloud as I scanned the place and caught sight of my previous place of employment, definitely not there. And then I caught sight of my previous employer. There he was, standing not too far away from me with his back facing me. Hmm, now I was confused. Should I go talk to him or should I... wait a second, I have no other option. I have to talk to him, I have to know his secret and when I know that, I will be on my way home. I am desperate to go home, but I am also desperate to know his secret.

"Let's go for the hunt, Hermione." I mumbled to myself and started walking towards him.

"Hi!" I tapped on his shoulder.

"Hello, Ms. Granger." He exclaimed as he turned around. His sunglasses made it hard for me to read his face, which in turn made me restless.

I smiled at him. I should have thought this through. I am clearly at a loss of words and have no idea how to keep him from walking away.

"Is this your first time here, Ms. Granger?" he asked, and I am so glad he did.

"Yes!" I answered with too much enthusiasm.

"I must say you seem excited about it!" he laughed.

"Yeah, it has been a long time since I have visited a Fair. So, I am pretty excited about it. What about you? Are you a regular visitor here?"

"No, it is only my second time here, I think." He said in a grim tone, "At least I think it is." He whispered to himself.

How does he not know? What is wrong with him? I couldn't ask him anything else because he walked away after that. He seemed to have zoned out and I kind of got the message he didn't want me to follow him. This case just gets confusing every moment. Just when I think that I might just be close to cracking it, I stumble upon a new development which changes everything. I stay there for a while and then walk away too.

...

"Enjoy the ride, ma'am" the guy at the counter said.

"Yes, thank you." I kindly smiled at him, but internally I was bursting with excitement! I was finally going to get to sit on the Ferris Wheel. I had waited a good 1 hour to finally sit on this ride and now I finally will get a chance to ride it!

I grinned as I got in the ride and nothing could wipe the grin off my face! But for very obvious reasons, I was now anticipating something to happen which would wipe the grin off my face. And it has name, the name is Draco Malfoy.

"Ms. Granger." He nodded at me as he seated himself across me.

"Malfoy." I replied with the same tone.

He cocked his eyebrow at me and displayed his trademark smirk at me.

"Why do you call me Malfoy?"

I froze. I should have been a little more careful. "That's because Malfoy is your name." I stated.

"That's true, but it doesn't sound right. People usually refer to me as Mr. Malfoy or Draco, but you simply call me by my last name."

"Is it?" I must have sounded ridiculous to him. I can see it in eyes now. I feel stupid and so does my stomach. I looked outside to realise that we were moving now and I was now stuck with Malfoy and his questioning eyes. "I have a bad habit of calling people by their surnames, I am sorry if I have offended you." I quietly said, without meeting his gaze.

He nodded at me and looked outside. The view was spectacular and we had almost reached the top. I could feel the butterflies forming in my stomach. I don't want to throw up, not again. I shouldn't have stepped on this ride in the first place. Why did I ever think that I would get rid of my fear of flying? Okay, I know this isn't flying, but I am still in mid air! I clutched to my seat as if I was holding onto my life. I can't throw up right now! I have to wait to land and then I will throw up. I need to take deep breaths and distract myself!

"I need a distraction. Distract me." I order Malfoy. I don't even bother to look at his face.

"Excuse me?"

"Look, now is not the time to be indifferent. Please, distract me." I begged him. And the look on his face reeked of satisfaction. That bastard was happy to be put in such a position, or he was happy because I was in such a position.

"Or what?" he smirked at me.

"Or I will throw up on you. You'll be covered in my lunch and my snack. Is that fine?" it was my turn to smirk at him.

"You do that and I will—" he raised his voice

"Fire me? Boo hoo, you already did that. Now can you stop being cocky and distract me. Why do you have to be prick Malfoy?" I was furious at him. Even though he has no recollection of his wizarding life, he was still the Malfoy that I knew. He wanted to push everyone beyond their limits and irritate them to eternity. I so wish I could say all this out loud but I was trying too hard to keep my food inside my stomach.

"You don't make wise decisions, Ms. Granger." He smirked at me.

"You don't make wise decisions either, Malfoy. Because you are not doing a good job distracting me. Hence, you're actually asking for it!"I said as I covered my mouth. It was in my throat, I could feel it.

"Well, you are free to leave then." He said as he opened the gate of the cabin.

I ran out of it and hurled in the corner. I was sick yet furious at him! He was so inconsiderate about anyone's feelings! I mean I don't expect him to be caring, but God, I had hoped that the Muggle world would have rubbed off on him and he would be a little, just a little, sensitive! But, no!

"Here, have some water."

I turned around to find him standing with 2 bottles of water. I took one and gulped it down and then waited to catch my breath.

"You are such a jerk!" I shouted at him in my feeble voice.

"Is that how you thank people?" he was amused.

"Oh and is that how you help people? You make me sick, Malfoy. SICK!"

"Well, I did stop you from throwing up in the ride. I distracted you and here I am being scolded for doing exactly what I was asked to do." He said in an obvious tone.

I was embarrassed now, but I didn't want to show it to him. "Well, you have a wonderful way of doing it." I said as I walked past him and snatched the second bottle of water from him. I wasn't going to let him win, I wasn't going to allow Malfoy to get away with everything.

He ran and caught up with me.

"I was looking for thank you, by the way."

I stopped and looked at him. This guy has the potential to irritate me, memory or no memory, he can do it anyway.

"Well, you're not getting any. So, you can leave." I snapped at him.

"I helped you and this is what I get in return?"

"Yes! You get this in return because you asked for it."

"How else was I supposed to distract you?" he exclaimed, "Was I supposed to dance naked? Or was I supposed to do gymnastics? Or was I supposed to talk about, I don't know, about how I fired you? Because guess what, none of them would have worked out this smoothly!"

I stared at him. His argument made sense, I think.

"Fine." I took a deep breath, "I am sorry and thank you." I mumbled.

"Finally, and you are welcome." He smirked at me this time.

I nodded at him and left. I didn't want to be in his company anymore, I know I have to find out more about him but he is simply so impossible and so hard to figure out. One moment he's all sweet and polite and the next moment he is imbecile, rude and a big jerk!

"Ms. Granger!" he shouted at me.

"Yeah?" I asked as I turned around.

"Are you leaving?"

"Yes, I don't feel well."

"Oh!" he looked at me disappointedly.

"Why? Is everything okay?" I looked at him with the hope of finding something.

"I was hoping you'd stay. The open dance off is about to begin, it is really fun. I thought you'd enjoy it, but if you aren't feeling well, you should go home." He smiled at me.

I looked at him for a couple of seconds before I made up my mind.

"I am sorry. I can't stay, I don't feel well. I'll catch this tomorrow."

"That's fine. Goodnight and take care, Ms. Granger. I will see you around, I guess." He smiled at me.

I nodded at him and walked my way back home. I can't believe that I had spent an entire day at the Fair, but mostly I can't digest the fact that Malfoy was different yet the same.

I entered my apartment and washed myself up and slipped into my night clothes. It had been a long and tiring day but I was feeling good, not sick but good. I was glad that I had made some development and gotten to know Malfoy a little better.

I tucked myself in my bed and thought about everything that happened with Malfoy, again. I went over every conversation of ours and now I was certain that Malfoy had lost his memory and most importantly, he had a secret, a fiercely guarded secret.

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	19. Dear Paper

_Dear loose sheet of paper,_

 _I am lost with Draco Malfoy. It sounds absurd but it is true. My job simply requires me to find him and here I am trying to figure him out. This case is not easy, it is taking away my mind day by day. I have found him and yet I am not doing the needful. I should be calling the Ministry officials, rather I am sitting in this town and trying to figure out why he left and why he is not the Malfoy I remember. And most importantly why is he the shadow of himself? He is not even close to what he was or is. He is just not himself. And this is what is stopping me from using magic!_

 _Malfoy was one of the worst persons I have ever had the misfortune to meet. He was the most loathsome creature I had ever met but today he seems different. And now he is this different guy who doesn't even remember himself. I can't even begin to tell how he isn't the same. I know I am repeating the same thing over and over again. But try putting yourself in my shoes and you will know that something unspeakable has happened to him. And I believe that the Ministry is aware about this which gives me all the more reason to not call them._

 _I am at crossroads, a part of me wants to hand him over to the Ministry and go home, and a part of me wants to find out more. Times like these make me wish for Harry and Ron even more. How much I want to go home and be with them, but if I do take the easy way out I would not only be disappointing myself but would also be disappointing them. If the war taught us anything it was to have courage and patience, which is what is going to help me solve this case._

 _I have nothing more to write now, but I hope that very soon I will have much more to share._

 _Love Hermione._

I stared out of the window. Malfoys are more complicated than they look and this particular Malfoy is a lot more than that.

Draco Malfoy. I don't know how I will ever get around you.

…..

It was 7 in the evening now. And I cannot believe that I spent majority of my day thinking about Malfoy. Needless to say, I was back to business and was walking towards the fair.

"Hermione"

I turned around to find the none other than Malfoy running towards me.

"Oh, hi there" I shouted.

"Hello to you to" he said as he tried to catch his breath. "I hope you are fine."

"Umm, what?"

"You were sick when you left yesterday, are you fine now?"

Right. I had completely forgotten about that.

"That was nothing. I'm fine now, thanks for asking" I smiled.

"Nice to hear that." He smiled back and looked around. "Are you going to the fair?"

"Yes I am", I could feel his discomfort in making small talk but I was not going to let go of this opportunity. "What about you?"

"Nope, not today. I have some other commitments, but you should go."

No. No. No. He has to come to the fair. I won't let him go this easy.

"Now that is a bummer! The only person I know in this town has prior commitments", I cried and tried to make it seem like a joke.

"Are you trying to be funny?" he said sternly.

"Maybe."

"Gosh, Madam Granger! You are so confusing!" he smirked, "Anyway, I can at least walk you to the fair and then I will be going back to my commitment."

"Not a bad idea at all" I smiled and started walking. In all fairness I would have liked a lot more time with him, but at least something is better than nothing.

"So, this commitment of yours.. where is she waiting for you?" I smirked at him.

"You really are a bright person Ms. Granger, but you are also an awfully slow person!"

"Well at least I got there!"

"Well my commitment involves a lot of girls" he laughed.

"You are gross Malfoy", disgust was written all over my face, "yuck, you are downright disgusting!".

"And you are imaginative" he laughed, "I am having dinner at an orphanage in the nearby town"

"Like I am supposed to believe that" I rolled my eyes at him.

"Well, you can join me if you want! The entire area can sense how desperate you are to go on a dinner with me. So, I am going to satiate your thirst to go out with me for dinner." He said with his patented smirk.

"Ha Ha" I glared at him. He is not wrong in saying that I am desperate but its not the dinner date that I want, its his time that I want the most.

"Is that a yes?"

"What about the fair?"

"The fair will be here tomorrow, those girls won't be."

"Why do you say that?"

"They are going to be moving for a while, which is why I am meeting them tonight. And for the record, it is not mandatory for you to come." He smiled at me. A genuine smile from Draco Malfoy. Something is really very different about him. He always seems like he is under some kind of a spell which is why he acts and behaves so differently now. I can see how much he wants to help people now, no wait, not people but muggles. Muggles who are way beneath him and who's existence should be completely disregarded but here he is talking about going to dinner with orphan girls. This is not the Malfoy I grew up knowing. I was wrong, he isn't even the shadow of his previous self. Yes, the war changed us all but a change of this degree is hard to believe and what change has caused him to forget about himself or anyone?

"Hey!" I heard him shouting at him while shaking me. "Are you fine?"

"Oh! Sorry, I had zoned out. I was thinking about something."

"Penny for your thoughts?"

"Parents, I was thinking about my parents."

He looked at me with confusion. "Are you alright?"

"Yes, I am fine. I just have not spoken to them for a long time now. I will give them a call soon." I gave him a weak smile.

"That is the right thing to do." He smiled back, "So, do you want to come with me?"

"Only if you promise that you won't kill me."

"Okay, Ms. Granger! Just wait for me here and I will get my car." He winked at me and left and only then I realised that we had reached his hotel. And now here I was, standing outside the hotel and waiting for him. Time has really accelerated its pace now and I don't want to lose any more time in finding out what has happened.


	20. Hours

**Hours**

I feel like a fool, or maybe I am thinking too much. It has not been too long, right? I look around and see a big crowd at the fair but other than that there really is nothing going around.

"Wow, I really am a fool. To even think that Malfoy would mean whatever he said!"

Undoubtedly I had been pranked and made fun of by Malfoy. And it is not that I was expecting something else, it's just that I am desperate. My desperation has gotten the best of me. I am smart enough to know that I am not to believe anything that comes out of Malfoy but I am also a fool to have stopped thinking rationally.

"He is not coming." I muttered to myself and started walking back home.

This was going to be a long walk. It is my walk of shame. I should have known better. Malfoy has very plain intentions, his intentions always involve making life miserable for others. Its because of him that I am here and have to endure humiliation of this degree.

"Oh, just wait here and I will get my car! And we will go to the orphanage together because I am a warm hearted creature now who has absolutely no idea who I am or who you are" I mimicked him as I reached home.

Just when I thought that I will be closing this case, Malfoy runs away. Typical Malfoy.

…

After the uneventful night, I have become even more desperate. Malfoy and his lunacy gets interesting day by day but this causes too many roadblocks.

"Well, it is a fresh day now! And I will start new today. A little more cautious that is!" I announced to myself while beaming at my reflection until I was interrupted by the knock on the door.

I open the door and am greeted by a bouquet of flowers.

"Ms. Granger?"

"Yes, and you are?"

"I am Mr. Dru Hornton, I work at the Riccardo Inns."

"Umm, what is this about?" I quizzed him as he gives me the bouquet.

"Mr. Malfoy has requested to meet you which is why I have come to pick you up."

"May I ask for what purpose?"

"Business." He smiled at me, "Now if we may?"

"Give me a moment and I will be right with you" I smiled and shut the door.

Now what does he need. I am not going to say no to meeting him because meeting him will work in my favour.

I get dressed and proceed to meeting him.

"This better be fun." I say to myself as I reach the venue.

…

"Ms. Granger, sorry to keep you waiting." Malfoy entered the room after keeping me waiting for 2 hours.

"Ah, the nerve you have to walk in here after 2 hours, Malfoy!" I rolled my eyes at him and got up to leave. "You foul loathsome evil little cockroach!" I said as he blocked my way. "Leave. Now."

"I am so sorry. I got held up in something else."

"Keep your apologies to yourself." I shouted at him. "I don't even know why I agreed to come over here in the first place! Especially after what you did last night!" and with that I pushed him out of my way.

"I am so sorry. I have been working all night and fell asleep right after I sent someone for you. Please, just wait till I am done." He pleaded.

"Fine. You have 2 minutes to tell me what you want." I said as I sat down.

"Come back and work for me." He said as he tried fixing his hair.

"I am not going to let you prank me for the 3rd time now." I simply stared at him.

"I mean it. Since last night I have been facing the wrath of our clients because there is no one at the front desk. We went through our records and even though you worked for a really really short period of time, we would like to have you back." Now I could sense the desperation.

"Apologise." I spat at him. This will definitely be worth it.

"Why?" he was furious. " I said sorry to you 2 minutes ago! Why should I do it again?"

"Because you did it again. And more so, thank you for reminding me that my 2 minutes are over. So, I better get going!" I got up to leave.

"You are so cocky." He said as he got up. "I am sorry Ms. Granger. And I promise to take care of my actions in the near future." He let out a deep breath. "Now will you accept the job?"

I looked at him and my decision was crystal clear.

"Yes, I will take the job with one added benefit."

He raised an eyebrow, "Which is?"

"I want transportation to my place and work." I stepped forward to show my dominance and pride "And it should not keep me waiting, even for a second."

My smirk met his.

"Done deal. I will go ahead and promise you that on the days our staff won't be available, I will personally provide you transportation." He smiled, "And you would do a great job if you start now."

"As you say Mr. Boss Man" I joked as I left the room and went to the front desk.

My days here are now counted. I will soon go home. And all thanks to Draco Malfoy.

…

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	21. The Front Desk

**The Front Desk**

"Yes, I assure you someone will be assisting you rightaway." I said as I prepared myself to pick the other buzzing phone. "Sure, no problem". I hung up and immediately picked up the next call. "Sorry, we don't have those available sir, but I will see if we can do anything about that." and with that I hung up.

This job was tiring and even more tiring was standing in heels for 12 hours, which seem like 40 hours. I look around to find a deserted lobby. I guess everybody has made their way to the fair which means I can probably sit down.

"Hello! " came a familiar voice. "Are you enjoying coming back to your old job?"

"Some job is better than no job." I simply stated.

"Ouch!" he pretended to be hurt, "Somebody woke up on the wrong side of the bed"

I rolled my eyes at him. This conversation could go wrong so quickly and I have no intentions of making it dirty.

"What? " he said as he leaned on the front desk, "Well now I'm sure that you definitely got up on the wrong side of the bed or maybe... You didn't get enough sleep Madam Granger" he said in a suggestive tone.

And then he winked. He winked. Winked. Winked.

And I winced.

"Yuck."

And then the phone broke the weird conversation that I was having with Malfoy.

"Hi, how may I help you?" I said blankly as I kept staring Malfoy, "Uh huh, sure, we'll send someone rightaway." and with that I hung up.

"Well if you attend our guests with that tone Ms. Granger, they might not return back." he taunted.

"Aww... Then why don't you hire someone else? I don't think firing me once again should be a problem!" I glared at him and I knew that I had won the battle.

"Oh, I will fire you once my entire set of staff is done managing the Fair! And believe me, once they are back I will show you the door myself." He smirked at me. "Better, I will personally provide transportation to you!" Sure, he thinks he has won the war. But little does he know about my true intentions.

"Now if you will Malfoy, I have work to do"

"Even I have work, and my work involves correcting you." He sniggered.

"Really? Correcting me?" I rolled my eyes at him. This blonde head was going to correct me. Me? I'm the insufferable know it all. If I don't know it, then nobody does.

"Well, I have news for you. You are not allowed to call one simply by their last name. And that's how I'm now going to be referred to as Mr. Malfoy or Draco." he looked at me for a while, "no mistakes allowed in this one Ms. Granger." With that he left.

111111111

"I hope a little delay won't bother you Ms. Granger. I understand that you have just started working here but I request you to work a little over your working hours. I realise that the job is demanding and you must be tired by now but as you're aware that most of our staffers are busy in the arrangements of the Fair, we don't have someone to take shifts with you or to take shifts which is why I'm asking you to stay back and work a little more." Malcolm paused to look at me and then continued, "It has been informed to me that the condition for your employment was transportation and I assure you I will keep our word and provide you the same whenever it is we release you. Needless to say all your extra hours would be compensated to you in whatever means you wish."

"It is my first day back."

"I am aware of that Ms. Granger" he said with such composure.

"I feel like I'm back at school now." I couldn't help but not say it. "But I will take up your offer."

Malcolm gave me a warm smile.

"Glad to hear that. If I may Ms. Granger, I have another proposition for you." he looked at me for my approval and continued, "The next couple of days would require your presence for us to handle our guests and crowd. There is no specific time as to when you will be needed which is why will it be okay for you to move into one of our staff quarters in the hotel? That way we can access you anytime and any day."

"Move in? Here?" I had not anticipated living here.

"Yes, here." he said with calmness in his voice.

It was strange to see him so calm. To be honest, this was only the second time I had seen him. The first time I saw him was when I was getting fired.

"Okay, I will move in here but I have one request"

"And that is?"

"I cannot wear anymore of these blasphemous heels. I assure you that my efficiency will boost a 100% if I get out of these heels."

"Or how about we give you chairs at the front desk? I believe that's a win win situation!" he said with a smile.

Malcolm Forbes. You are one convincing chap.

"Done. I'll move in here tomorrow!"

"Nice to hear that. Now, you may go and resume your duties."

I left the room with hope. I keep reiterating how much I want to go home and everyday I feel like I am almost there. But today, I feel like this is the closest I have reached home.


End file.
